The People Under the Stairs
by Hellosunshine13
Summary: New student, new friends. Suffering from torture for many years, Rukia finally runs. Will she be saved one day, or fall back down? Love, enemies, everything you could think of in one story. Ichiruki and other pairings
1. Chapter 1

Ni hao! Yes, I know I'm only on my first story and the beginning none the less. BUT I really wanted to write another one and have the challenge of doing more than one story at the time. Oh the torture I'm giving myself.. Well enough about me and my complex mind. This story here will not be random one-shots. The People Under the Stairs is not a literal title.. But in the summary I did explain that Rukia is having a tough life. I want to stay with Bleach and how the characters dealt with what they did in the manga. So please, just read and enjoy this story. Now let's begin :)

Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach. All that I own is a cute orange kitten, a boyfriend who takes me to concerts, and a laptop. c:

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Chapter One

In the busy streets of Japan, people are all walking and running to places in their daily lives that is part of a routine they all practice. Adults go to work starting in the morning and returning in the evening. Children run to school to learn daily about new subjects that will be forgotten eventually during the summer break. This is what common cities here in Japan look like on a daily basis. Now traveling to Karakura Town. Over here in this peaceful town is a more slow-paced life that is much different from the fast-paced movements in the busy streets. Here in Karakura is common family neighborhoods that include many families. Overall, you would say Karakura is a family oriented area. In this town, the neighborhoods are divided into districts. Each section of the neighborhood is numbered off. Starting in the low numbers, the neighborhood looks clean and pristine, worthy of noble living. As the numbers got higher, the district would be in a more poor condition than the previous one. Even though Karakura was all together a nice neighborhood full of live and virtue, there were always trouble and poverty that struck all parts of the world.

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Smoke slowly filled the room as the cigarettes burned away in the room. Bottles laid around in a mashed manor in the corner of the small living room. Laying on the couch was a middle-aged man with long midnight black hair that reached to his chest. Lightly snoring, the man was resting from a vigorous activity. Around the corner in the hallway were clothes along the corridor and fallen decorations from the shelves on the wall. At the end of the hall by the first door was a small body laying prone position on the floor. It was a young girl at the age of sixteen. She also had midnight black hair that only reached the top of her shoulders. Her porcelain skin tainted with numerous bruises in a variety of sizes. Blue and purple spread across her back and arms like blobs of paint on a picture. Across the inside of her forearm were lines, cuts from self-harm or abuse. Each cut reflecting the years of damage this poor soul has endured through. Over half her life she has been abused, with no help from anyone. All hope for safety was lost when the constant abuse she received took the life of her sister two years ago. After the death of her sister, the abuse became a dull pain that has been repeated every other day. Slowly waking up, the girl crawls over to her room. Packing silently, she gathers up what little objects she has and leaves. Not looking back once, the once imprisoned soul is finally free.

(Seven days later)

Walking down the quiet hallway of Karakura Elite High, sixteen year old Rukia looks at the piece of information written on the paper: _First hour- Language 8183. _Just enrolling in the school yesterday, Rukia strolls down the clear hallways of this private school. Karakura Elite is a private school specifically for musicians, artists, and performers. This school holds the most talented people that reside in Japan. To get into this school you need two things: Talent and money. The only other way though to make it into this school is having the school board offer you scholarships. Rukia was quite lucky being picked for scholarships. Two days ago she ran into a school board rep while singing to the music in a store. She was offered a spot in the school right then and there. So now she is in the school still looking for her first class. '_Where is this first class?'_ Rukia still wandered around not noticing the fast blob rushing towards her. *CRASH* Papers began flying around as two bodies fell onto the ground. Books were spread around the hallway and pieces of paper covered the floor like a blanket.  
_"_Hey, watch where you are going next time! But are you all right?" Asked the stranger that ran into Rukia. Looking up, Rukia began staring at this young student sitting in front of her. The first thing she noticed was bright orange hair and honey-brown eyes. She began feeling hypnotized by these bright brown orbs that continued to stare at her violet eyes.  
"Huh? Oh, yeah sorry about that." mumbled Rukia. "I'm actually new here. This is my first day at this school. Uh, do you possibly know where Language 8183 or any of these classes are?" Handing the boy her schedule, he looked it over and began smirking.  
"Well, who would of thought that we would have all the same classes midget? Now that I know I will see you everyday let me introduce myself to you. I'm Kurosaki, Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo stands up and helps Rukia up. Thanking him and wiping off the dust Rukia replies back. "Nice to meet you Kurosaki-kun, I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Not Midget!" swinging her foot back, she kicks Ichigo right into his shin making him fall back down. "OW! What the hell?! I'm trying to be nice and help you. You should be more thankful midget!" Yelled Ichigo as he slowly picked himself up. "Yeah, yeah. Now come on Strawberry, let's get to class." grabbing Ichigo's hand, Rukia drags him down the hallway walking towards her first class with her new acquaintance.

Pulling the door open, the two students run through the room fast. Breathing heavily, Ichigo runs and sits in the empty seat next to the window and begins looking outside. Rukia stays up in the front of the room standing in front of the teacher feeling slightly embarrassed by the loud commotion she made on her first day of school.  
"Sorry for the interruption sensai. I'm the new student, Kuchiki Rukia. I apologise for the interruption." Holding her breath, Rukia waits for the teacher to respond. "Oh, good morning Kuchiki-san. I'm professor Kyoraku and this is my assistant, Nanao Ise. My sweet Nanao, could you please get Kuchiki's supplies for this class?" With a quick slap to the back of the head and a nod, Nanao quickly walks to the closet and collects all the books needed for the class. "Now where shall I put you Kuchiki, hm. Ah! Take the empty seat right next to Kurosaki. He is the man with the bright orange hair. Kurosaki! Please raise your hand so the cute little student can find her seat." Listening to the orders, Ichigo raises his hand and scowls at Professor Kyoraku. Rukia bows in front of the teacher and walks towards the back next to the orange haired student.

Taking a seat, Rukia sets all her stuff onto the table and prepares for the first lesson. Sighing quietly to himself, Ichigo moves his gaze over towards the young girl next to him. '_I can't believe this midget is the same age as me. She is do damn short for her age. I wonder how she got into this school. Maybe during lunch she can join the group and explain her story.' _Taking a piece of paper from his binder, Ichigo writes a note and slides it towards Rukia. Being as sly as possible, Rukia takes the note and reads it in her head. Answering almost immediately, Rukia turns and passes the paper along. Grabbing for the note, Ichigo begins reading it again without noticing a tall figure standing in front of the desk. "Now Kurosaki, I know you don't like to pay attention in class. But please let other students not follow in the same steps as you." Looking up, Ichigo sighs and grumbles a few words under his breath. Giving the note to Kyoraku, Ichigo slumps down into his chair and closes his eyes. "Now class..."

Lunch finally arrives for the students to enjoy. Ichigo takes Rukia up to the roof. On the roof sat a group of teens all in a circle. The circle consisted of people eating and playing instruments together. Ichigo and Rukia sit next to each other and soon bombarded with questions.  
"Hey Kurosaki where is your guitar? I want to use it for an acoustic!"  
"Kurosaki, hitting on the new girl already?"  
"What's her name, what's her name? Hi! I'm Inoue Orihime, but call me Hime!"  
"HELLO angel that fell from the sky, how about you and I-.." *WHACK*  
Tired of the questions, Ichigo stands up and clears his throat preparing for his little speech to stop his friends questioning. "Guys, this is Kuchiki Rukia. She is in the same grade as us. She is a short midget I ran into before class. She is not going on a date with you Keigo, so be quiet and leave her alone." Ichigo sits down and ignores the cries of Keigo as he rolls on the ground. Rukia stares in amazement from how different everyone is. Feeling nervous, Rukia stays quiet and just listens to the groups conversation. Rukia becomes included in the conversation as Orihime begins asking her some questions.  
"So Kuchiki-san would you like telling us more about you and how you got into this school? I would love to know!"

Looking around the group, Rukia stays quiet for a moment before starting her long explanation.  
"Ahem, well I'm Kuchiki Rukia as all of you know by now from the Strawberry. Well I'm in the same grade as all of you. I'm from the Rukongai District, but I live now in an apartment ten minutes away from the school. I got accepted for the scholarship program at this school. I play the violin and piano. I'm in the advance band and orchestra classes. I think that's it?" Everyone stared at her for a few moments before Orihime squealed and hugged her tightly."Ahh! Kuchiki-san! I can see us being amazing friends. I'm so glad you can be part of our group! We should all have a gathering today after school at your house. I will prepare the snacks and bring some games!" Orihime could not stop beaming as she squeezed the small Kuchiki tightly. "Uh, Inoue-san I can't breathe. I don't think I could have a gathering beca-.." Saved by the bell, Rukia's answer was cut off short. Everyone groaned and began packing up their stuff. "Let's go midget, time for class again." grabbing both of their lunches, Ichigo begins walking down the steps behind everyone. "Coming?" Rukia looks up and runs towards him. "Slow down you tall giant. Wait for me!" Rukia runs and catches up with the tall teen. The two walk towards class not noticing their friends watching them from afar. Giving each other stares, Ishida speaks up. "Maybe Kurosaki finally found someone to rely on after losing his mother. I'm actually glad for him." Everyone nods at his observation and walks to their respected classes to finish the long school day.

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Here is the first chapter! I'm actually liking how this is starting. I know I left a few parts missing, but I'm sure you will understand. ;) Please read and review. I will be trying to write another chapter as soon as possible. This will be quite a long story hopefully. I always plan stuff in my head but always change directions. See you guys next chapter, cheers. c:

P.S.- I am also writing another story: A,B,C can't be easy.. Check it out also c:


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to all who read the first chapter! :) I really appreciate it a lot. I like to thank: 27kirune12, NarutoLuver896, Player Zero, Star fire girl 788, The Fierce Hero, mooopower, and yagami rin for reviewing/favoriting/following this story c: Hm, I'm not sure what else to say in this note except to enjoy chapter 2!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All that I own is this laptop, a cute orange kitten and a boyfriend who takes me to concerts. c:

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Chapter 2

Sliding the door open, Rukia's eyes widen and she stares in awe. Coming face to face with a grand white piano, she fell in love in moments. The beauty of each key shined under the lights. Rukia's fingers itched to touch the beautiful instrument. She could already imagine herself sitting on the stool and playing sweet melodies and classics from musical inspirations. Rukia was in a strong trance that she did not notice the figure standing right behind her. Still not noticing anyone, Rukia walks up to the piano and positions herself right in front of the keys. Breathing slowly, she closes her eyes and moves her fingers over the keys. Playing a dramatic piece from Mozart, Rukia hits every note with intense precision that could rival any professional pianist. Hitting every note til the end, Rukia feels exhausted and starts to breathe heavily and leans back to feel someone's body right behind her. Screaming and jumping up to face who was behind her, Rukia feels her whole face turn red from embarrassment. Smirking down, Ichigo ruffles her hair and greets her.  
"Wow midget, I didn't know you were that talented on the piano, I got to admit that playing Mozart is quite difficult and you easily managed it with no errors. I think you will be a lovely asset to the school orchestra." Blushing at his comment, Rukia turns back around and starts to mumble a small response back. "Oh it was nothing, I'm not that good at the piano. What can you do Kurosaki-kun?" Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo contemplates for a few seconds before walking towards the backroom to grab an instrument. " Well I mainly play guitar around my friends and play in the school band when needed, but I also play the piano. I would never play in the school orchestra though because I already have a position in the other band. But I think it would be a good choice for you to play in our orchestra. If not, we could play music together sometimes in this music room." Ichigo began blushing thinking about having the raven haired girl play the piano with him in a duet piece. Before his brain could catch up with his mouth he continues on. "Maybe we could just head over to my house and do a small session. I do have a piano over there, but it's not as big as this one. So what do you think?" Looking up, Ichigo is faced with a look of confusion and a little bit of anxiety. "Uh, that sounds really nice of you Kurosaki-kun to invite me to your house. I don't think it would be a good idea. I can't do it, just not yet. I'm really sorry."

Turning around Rukia is about to run off but feels a hand lightly grab her wrist. Tensing up from this action, Rukia flinches away and starts to run off. Ichigo stands surprise for a few seconds before running towards her to see what's wrong. "Rukia! Rukia, please stop running! Just talk to me please." Catching up easily to the smaller girl with his long legs, Ichigo stops right in front of her and catches Rukia as she runs straight into his body. "Rukia, please just calm down. I'm not here to hurt you. Just breathe." Taking his advice, Rukia begins to breathe deeply and look up at the guy in front of her. Seeing the honey eyes calmed her down a great deal. "Ichi-Ichigo, I mean Kurosaki-kun. Please excuse my moment of being out of character. I need to go now." Blinking, Ichigo doesn't notice the small girl taking off until he hears the crunch of leaves getting more feint. Cursing to himself, Ichigo walks back to the room and notices a purple bag. Realising that Rukia left her bag next to the piano, Ichigo flies out of the room to attempt to catch up with the midget. Ichigo begins to follow her through the city noticing that she is walking towards his own apartment complex. He keeps up with Rukia at a good pace to see her enter a door, assuming to be her own room, right next to his. Slowing down to a mere walk, Ichigo decides to keep her bag and attempt to give it to her tomorrow at school. Thinking his plan through, he thinks of a way to ask Rukia about her random outburst.

(2:45 A.M.)

Looking up at the ceiling has been the current activity Ichigo has taken for the past four hours. Losing the desire to sleep, Ichigo replays what happened today after school with Rukia. His whole body floods with concern and curiousity that refused to die down. Sighing in annoyance, Ichigo decides to roll out of bed and take a walk outside. Walking around in the cold night air has Ichigo wander around for quite some time not realising where he was walking to. Deciding to stop and sit, Ichigo notices that he walks to the tree. The tree that holds many memories made by his family. Memories of his mother that he could never forget even when he dies. He remembers all the stories as if he listened to it yesterday. Back in the past, Ichigo remembers sitting here for hours with his mother while she told him stories. This tree was the location where his parents first met, the first date, the engagement. In a way, Ichigo believe this tree was a symbol of strength between earth and plant. Isolated on a hill towards the outskirt of the area, Ichigo looks out to see a town filled with lights. Looking around, Ichigo notices a body laying down on the side of the hill.

It looked like a girl, but he was not sure until he began walking towards the figure. Surprise found his face when he noticed it was Rukia laying there. Walking up to Rukia, Ichigo slowly sits down next to her and softly talks to her. "Rukia, do you see that star over there? I believe it is someone looking straight down at the one they admire. My mother used to tell me that stars represented loved ones who moved on to the after life." Startled by the sudden voice, Rukia sits up and looks over at the teen who decided to show up out of nowhere. " Ichi- Kurosaki. What are you doing here? You scared me. By the way, where did you get that theory?" Joining her and laying down right next to her, Ichigo scowls at her but with a playful side to it. "First, only call me Ichigo. Second, my mother used to take me here everyday and she told me the story." Feeling no need to answer his question, Rukia looks back up at the sky and whispers to herself. "So then, Hisana must be up there watching me?" Looking over towards the girl, Ichigo just stares at her for a few moments. Taking in every moment he has, he imprints this moment in his brain as a permament memory that he could add. He will always remember this right next to the tree. Turning his head back towards the sky, Ichigo stares at the stars with a new friend that he could see spending more years with. He knows that he will have to work, but he eventually will get the walls down and open up to her and possibly have the same happen to her with him. Closing his eyes, he slowly drifts off to sleep.

(9:37 A.M.)

'_Where am I? I remember leaving the house after my whole panic attack at school. I know this is not my bed, it smells.. It smells like some guy?'_ Blinking a few times, Rukia finally opens her eyes to see a black fabric in front of her eyes. Pulling her head up fast, she realised it was a hoode. But who's hoodie is by her face? Following the hoodie up, Rukia's eyes widen. Seeing Ichigo sleeping right next to her turns her face red like a tomato. Screaming and jumping as fast as a rabbit, Rukia scrambles and begins rambling barely coherent apologies. Ichigo finally wakes up from the sudden warmth vanishing from his body and sees Rukia pacing back in forth talking really fast. Yawning and standing up, Ichigo decides to stop the girl in her random mumbling of apologies.  
"Morning to you too, Rukia. What time is it anyway? I'm starving for some food. Want to join?" Looking at the teen, Rukia begins to turn even more red hearing his voice. "Ichigo! Are you not confused by what just happened? How can you be so calm and ask me to join for food?" Ready to reply to Rukia, Ichigo is interrupted by a stomach growling from the girl in front of him. Smiling widely from the sound of her stomach, Ichigo begins walking towards the bagel shop pushing her in front of him. "Well according to your stomach, you are coming. Let's go, let's go! Pick up the pace. I don't want to keep pushing you, lazy midget." Stopping for a moment to elbow him in the gut, Rukia begins running towards the bagel shop leaving Ichigo on the ground.

Sitting at a booth in the bagel shop really made Ichigo nervous. Why you may ask? Well for starters, he was with the new girl that everyone knew at school. Turns out administration was quite a gossip group and made sure everyone knew about the new student that enrolled halfway through the year. Not that he cared much what administration or other students talked about, he just wanted to make sure it was nothing bad. But that wasn't the main problem, the main problem was just people in general. Too many guys were staring at Rukia, while many girls were staring at Ichigo with hungry eyes. Ichigo just couldn't stand the all the staring that took place in the shop. Making a quick decision, Ichigo glared at all the guys showing that he could promise them something bad like death and stood up.

Confused with the sudden action, Rukia follows Ichigo out to leave the shop with him. "What's wrong Ichigo? I thought you wanted to stay at the bagel shop?" Still walking forward Ichigo didn't respond until feeling a shoe hit his back. Turning around to glare at Rukia, Ichigo responds calmly to her. "I just felt uncomfortable with all the staring, sorry about that. Let's just go to my apartment where no one will bother us." Mentally cursing at what he said, he was shocked when he heard Rukia actually agree with him. "I guess we could. Can we possibly stop at mine first? It's not too far." Looking down towards Rukia, Ichigo noticed how she seemed relaxed and not in a hurry to hide. Ichigo felt a small ray of happiness shine in his heart when he noticed that he did not scare her off again. Following Rukia down the street, Ichigo softly smiled sincerely at her backside.

Unlocking her door, Rukia runs into her apartment to grab a few books and comes right out. Nodding her head to signal she was ready, she follows Ichigo towards his home. Walking a few steps, Rukia looks at Ichigo in confusion. "Ichigo, why did we stop at the door next to mine?" Grabbing his keys and turning towards Rukia, Ichigo smirks at her and begins to unlock the door. "Well it so happens that your neighbor is a tall teen with bright orange hair. He happens to go to Karakura Elite with this one girl whose name is Rukia Kuchiki. Does this ring any bells?" Laughing at his explanation, Rukia takes her shoes off and walks into his apartment. Rukia looks around and notices how empty but clean his apartment is. She walks around the living room seeing a theme of black and white. "It's quite bare in here, no colors at all?" Taking his shoes off and sitting on the couch, Ichigo shrugs and looks at her. mind don't mind it at all. I never have people around, so I keep it bare." Accepting his answer, Rukia sits down on the couch and pulls a book up to read. "Edgar Allen Poe? Good choice, I'm more into Shakespeare myself." Looking over to Ichigo, Rukia begins to recite: "She sat like Patience on a monument,smiling at grief." From Twelth Night. Ichigo repeats her actions and recites also from Twelth Night easily like she did. "In nature there's no blemish but the mind; none can be called deformed but unkind." Surprised by his voice, Rukia looks away before embarrassing herself even more. Ichigo decides that he likes speaking about classic literature and continues with more quotes. "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be fool. If music be the food of love, play on. You know Rukia, I could go on forever and kill you from boredom." waiting for a reaction, Ichigo pokes her shoulder and notices that she is frozen in place. Concern flowing through his body again, Ichigo kneels in front of her and begins to talk softly. "Rukia are you okay? Did I freak you out again? I'm sorry, talk to me midget." Still getting no response, Ichigo tries to pull Rukia off the couch, but she still sits there.

What seems like hours to Rukia, was really only minutes in reality. Regaining some composure, Rukia looks over to see a worried Ichigo next to her. Finding her courage, she gets up and does the unthinkable. She softly smiles and pulls Ichigo into a quick hug. Lasting no more than two seconds, Rukia let's go. "Thank you Ichigo, you have been such a great host. Maybe later this week we could watch some Shakespeare plays?" Walking towards the door Rukia reaches for the door handle but is soon stopped. Looking at the hand that has a firm grip on her, Rukia slowly begins to panic. The strong grip loosens and her heart beat slows back down. "Rukia we need to talk, I want to know why you freaked out yesterday?" thinking of an appropriate answer, Rukia begins to open the door as she speaks. "Sorry Ichigo, I'm not ready to talk. Maybe in the future I could tell you." Closing the door, Ichigo is left standing by the door confused. He is not sure why he is so interested, but he has this strong urge to help her. The first step was to find out more about her, her interests, what she likes, what she dislikes, her strengths, and her weaknesses. He will try and ask during lunch, maybe he can have some time with her alone. '_I hope I can accomplish this. Mom, I wish you were here to help me.'_

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There you guys go, chapter two is done and complete. I may have rushed the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia but that is natural for them. :) thank you for reading and reviewing c: chapter three will be out soon. Cheers c:

p.s.- check out my other story A,B,C not so easy... Go ichiruki c:


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone. c: I hope you all enjoyed the first two chapters, I am loving how this story is coming out. Trust me, if you saw the first drafts of this stroy, you would be on the floor laughing. I would love to thank 27kirune12, NaurtoLuver896, Player Zero, Star fire girl 788, The Fierce Hero, mooopower, .3, and yagami rin for all the support and love c:

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I own this laptop, a cute orange kitten, and a wonderful boyfriend. c:

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Chapter 3

A week has passed since the incident with Ichigo at the tree. To be honest, Rukia overall enjoyed the incident. She thought it was relaxing to have someone look at the stars with her in silence. '_Hisana, I'm sure you would of loved to see the stars here in Karakura.'_ Every time she took the time to think of the night, she always brings back the morning that followed. Turning red at the thought, Rukia pushes that to the deep corner of her mind. What was she thinking? She just met Ichigo Kurosaki not that long ago, and she already feels like Ichigo is someone important to her. Rukia had hope to fly through high school with no problem at all. Her plans started to slowly fail and vanish as she saw Ichigo and his group of friends walking towards her during lunch. "Hey midget, what are you doing over here and not on the roof?" Sitting next to her, Ichigo takes out two juice boxes and hands one to her. Thanking Ichigo for the offer, Rukia stays quiet and drinks the juice. Ichigo squeezes the juice box and watches as Rukia's cheeks expand with a lot of juice. Turning towards her victim, Rukia lets her attack start on Ichigo's face. Everyone bursts out laughing seeing this little battle between a midget and a boy who is twice her size.

"Good job Rukia! Attack the Strawberry." Renji becomes interested in the little battle to not notice the Strawberry glaring at him. "What was that Pineapple? Do you want your ass to be destroyed again?" Tackling Renji down the hill, Ichigo and Renji fight for several minutes and scream at each other. The group of friends ignore the fighting, but Rukia is curious as to why the friends are not helping. "Don't worry Rukia-chan, this happens all the time between Ichigo and Renji. They have been at it since the first day they met." Everyone nods and agrees with Orihime as she describes the relationship between the two fruitheads. Minutes later, the two come back with bruised faces and dirty clothes. Sitting back down like nothing happened, Ichigo turns to Rukia and leans into her ear.  
"Hey midget, can we talk after school? We can talk in private without our friends there to pressure you." Feeling the same from the morning incident, Rukia feels her cheeks start to burn with red. "That sounds good, better not fall asleep on me _Captain Strawberry._" Ichigo scowls at Rukia and pinches her cheek. "Stupid midget, not so loud. I don't want other people to start calling me that." When Ichigo thought he was safe he heard one thing that ruined his lunch for sure. "Wow Captain Strawberry, telling secrets to Kuchiki-san? Now don't you know secrets don't make friends?"  
"Shut Up Ishida!"

As the bell rings to signal the end of the school day, Rukia walks over to the rooftop. She waits fifteen minutes for Ichigo to come over and talk to her. All throughout the class, Rukia kept thinking of scenarios that could happen when Ichigo talks to her. '_What does Ichigo want to talk about? I already know his hair is natural.. It's not that hard to tell. I'm sure it's nothing bad. Why would it be bad? I have only know this idiot for a little over a week. Well Ichigo better get here fast or else I'm leaving.'_ Hearing the door open, Rukia glares at Ichigo as he strolls over to her. Ichigo waves a hand and looks down to speak. "Hey Rukia, want to start walking? We can talk as we walk." Turning around, Ichigo grabs Rukia and drags her down the stairs. The walk towards the front of the school remains quiet. All you can hear is the pair of feet hitting the ground and doors being open. Reaching the destination of a cherry blossom tree, Ichigo finally stops walking and sits to the ground. Rukia follows his lead and sits next to him looking around the scenery.

Next to them was a tall cherry blossom tree in full bloom. They sat on a quiet hill facing the school yard. Watching the cherry blossoms fall kept the teens in a calm mood. The beauty of the pink flowers falling around them in a dance. A cherry blossom lands softly into Rukia's hair without her noticing. Ichigo grabs the flower and blows it away. Turning back towards her again, Ichigo begins to use his voice for once since being with her. "Rukia, I know we have known each other for a little over a week, but I..-"  
"Stop right there! I'm not dating you, that's weird! I barely know anything about you, I thought you were supposed to get to know the girl first?"  
"Wh-what?! Why would I want to date you midget? I would practically have to be on my knees the whole time to talk or, or.. you know?" Ichigo turns red and mumbles the rest of the sentence. "What are you trying to say Ichigo? That you never had a kiss or kissed someone? I didn't know we were getting into details.." Growling at Rukia very darkly, Ichigo stands up and looks down at her. "No midget, we are not talking about relationships. What I wanted to talk to you was the incident after school last week. What happened? You know I was trying not to hurt you. I never would do that. You are my friend Rukia. You can always talk to me, I will always protect you. That's what my name means. The one who protects." Hearing his explanation, Rukia looks to side and sighs. Standing up also, Rukia grabs Ichigo's hands and begins talking. "Thank you. I know you are sincere Ichigo. I never had friends before like this. I know it's hard for me to be close, but I'm healing. I am not ready to tell you about my past, but when I'm ready I will." Squeezing her hands, Ichigo bends down and whispers into her ear. "Don't worry midget, when you are ready to talk, I'll be here." Letting go of her hands, Ichigo begins to jog down the hill. "Last one to the apartments has to make dinner!" Eyes begin to widen as the tall teen sprints off. "That's cheating, Ichigo! Stop now, you automatically have to make me dinner!"

Dinner between the two was quite comfortable for a couple who jab at each other over small things. Even though the two only knew each other for nearly two weeks, they acted as if they knew each other for years. Rukia felt happy for the first time in her life. She truly forgot about all the miserable house she spent most of her life in. '_I wonder how my father is doing. I am sure he didn't notice me leaving.'_ Shaking her head, Rukia heads to the park with her Ipod and book. Twenty minutes into reading her book, Rukia sees some auburn hair covering the pages. Looking up, Rukia is face to face with Orihime. "Hello there Inoue-san, how are you?"  
"Hi ther Kuchiki-san! What are you doing in the park? I'm just walking through with some party supplies. You should join me. The whole gang is at my house, even Kurosaki-kun! Let's go, no time to waste!" Grabbing her hand, Orihime drags Rukia all the way to her house. "Inoue-san, are you sure I should join? I don't want to seem like a party crasher." Orihime turns around and smiles down at Rukia. Laughing at her thoughts, Orihime starts to ramble on all the way to her house. Arriving at Orihime's house, Ishida walks out to help his girlfriend. Taking some bags from the talkative girl, Ishida greets them both. "Welcome Kuchiki-san, I'm glad Orihime was able to convince you to come here. I'm sure Kurosaki-kun would be glad to see you." Confused by his statement, Rukia just stands there and smiles. "Come on Kuchiki-san, get into the house! Let's finally get the party started."

Walking into the house, Rukia could hear all the voices coming from the living room. Stepping inside to the room, everyone turns towards Rukia and greets her happily. "Rukia-chan you came!"  
"Hey Kuchiki, didn't know you were coming?"  
"Rukia-chan! My sweet, sweet, angel! Come sit next to me!"  
"Stop Keigo, don't go near Rukia!" Walking up to Rukia, Ichigo blocks Keigo's path to hug her. "Hey midget, I'm glad you came and saved me from these idiots." Smirking at Ichigo's plea, Rukia pats his arm and walks toward the couch. "I didn't know you were that excited to see me Captain Strawberry."  
"Will you stop with that nickname?"  
"Never." Regretting her choice, Rukia is lifted up over Ichigo's shoulder. The room is filled with laughters from this display of playfulness. Rukia begins to laugh as she is carried away from the crowd. Laughing for what seems like hours, Rukia does not notice how she is back outside or the fact that she was in the backyard with only Ichigo. Seconds later, the world seems to become cold to Rukia. *SPLASH* Opening her eyes, Rukia noticed that the world turn blue and wet? Moving up towards the surface, Rukia realised that she was thrown into the pool and that she was going to kill a certain teen. A teen that goes by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki, the world's biggest idiot in front of her. "Ichigo Kurosaki, you better get me out of this pool or you will be saying goodbye to everyone on this world for the last time." Deciding to live another day, Ichigo holds a hand out to help Rukia. But Rukia had other plans than getting out of the pool. With all her strength, Rukia pulls Ichigo deep down into the pool. Slowly floating up to the top, Ichigo stands up with his head out of the water. Pulling Rukia up to the surface he takes water and splashes it into her face. "What the hell midget?! That was uncalled for, I had my cell in my pocket.. Now it's ruined and no one can contact me. What if I was getting murdered, hm? No one can save me now!"  
"Don't worry Ichigo, I'm sure no one would try to kill you. I live next door, so I could attempt to save you if I want.." Laughing, Rukia swims towards the edge of the pool so she can climb out. "So Rukia, is that an invite for me to hang out with you anytime?"  
"I guess so Strawberry, I guess so."

Climbing out of the pool and drying off, the two join the rest of the group. Not questioning what happened, Orihime gives them spare clothes and guides them back to the living room. "Now Kuchiki-san would you like to pick a movie? We all decided to turn this party into a movie night! What movie would you like to see?" Looking through the pile of movies, Rukia decided to choose by random. "How about the Human Centipede?" Everyone agreed and Rukia put the disc into the dvd player. Situating onto the couch, Rukia sat between Ichigo and Chad. Rukia thought she was between two buildings, looking from side to side she couldn't see anything but bodies. Moving the blanket higher, Rukia gets comfortable as the movie is playing. When the Human Centipede appears, Rukia becomes a little uncomfortable like the rest of the girls. Sliding over to the left a little, Rukia tries to get a little closer to Ichigo and tries to hide her view behind him. "What's wrong midget, not liking the movie _you_ picked?"  
"Shut up Ichigo. I didn't think it would be that bad." Chuckling silently, Ichigo moves his right arm around her shoulders and pulls Rukia close to him. Rukia tenses up but slowly gets comfortable realising that she is safe here. Hiding her face even more, Rukia smiles a small smile. _'Maybe I found a home here, with everyone and Ichigo.'_

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Ho hey. Chapter three is finally done. I think it came out very cute c: I added some ichiruki in it, hopefully you all liked that. Sorry it took awhile to get this started, but raccoons could be quite evil into destroying some electrical wires.. Anyways, please read and review. Thank you very much, until next chapter. Cheers c:


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone! I know I said I had a raccoon problem, which I still do. BUT! I have an amazing friend who let me use her wi-fi from work for free c: She is the bestest ever. So I shall be able to resume this story with no problem at all. Let's keep this story moving! I would love to thank: 27kirune12, Miyako Tsubaki, NarutoLuver896, Player Zero, Star fire girl 788, The Fierce Hero, mooopower, .3, and yagami rin for the support. c:

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. All that I own is this laptop, a cute orange kitten, and a wonderful boyfriend. c:

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Chapter 4

Flower petals began to fall as the temperature took a cool turn towards winter. School began closing down as winter called in for a break. Finishing up the first semester, students studied hard for finals. Staying up late nights cramming their brains with information, no one had much time to spend together. Staying up at unreasonable hours, Rukia and Ichigo thought it would be best to study together. Countless hours and days passed as the duo study their butts off for the finals. Overall, Rukia beat Ichigo in three finals. With that victory, Rukia won free dinner for a week. Ichigo felt his pride shrink as he cooked dinner for the midget every night, but deep down in his mind he really enjoyed it. After finals, a tradition started between the two. Every other week they would switch off on cooking duties. Ichigo tried to cook more though, since Rukia was not best at cooking. The only good dish she could actually make was miso soup. They both couldn't live off of miso soup forever. Tonight was Ichigo's turn to cook the dinner for the two of them. Rukia walks over to his apartment and sits on the couch. The two had a mutual agreement that one person can be allowed in the kitchen at a time. Rukia turns on the tv to watch some Chappy. When she first watched the rabbit-themed show, Rukia instantly fell in love with the cute furry creature. Singing along to the opening theme, Ichigo comes out and walks in front of her. "Rukia, how many times do I have to tell you that this show is for little kids? Turn the crap off." Kicking her foot out, Rukia lands her small foot into Ichigo's stomach. "Fool! You know Chappy is a wonderful television show that everyone should watch." Mumbling about evil midgets, Ichigo ignores the evil glare from said midget and went back into the kitchen. Watching Chappy never came peacefully for Rukia.

Usually it was Ichigo who would ruin the entertainment, but tonight it was the phone. Looking over to see if Ichigo would answer it, Rukia walks over and grabs the phone.  
"Hello there, Kurosaki residence. What can I..-" pulling the phone away, a loud voice booms through the phone.  
"ICHIGO! My dear son, when did you find yourself an angel! She sounds like a wonderful girl. Haver her come with you over to the house for Christmas! Masaki, looks like I raised our son right after all! Yuzu, Yuzu! Ichigo has finally got the strength to ask a girl..-" Grabbing the phone from Rukia, Ichigo ends the phone call and throws the phone down the hall. "Sorry Rukia, I didn't think the old man would ca-.." *DING DONG* "Who could be at the door? Rukia can you answer it? I need to finish dinner." Walking over to the door, Rukia opens the door and is soon knocked down to the ground. Hearing a body fall, Ichigo runs toward the front door and soon regretting his life. Standing in all his goofy glory, Isshin Kurosaki is at the front door. Jumping over Rukia, Isshin flies through the air to tackle Ichigo. "Ichigo my son! Is that anyway to treat your old man? You know it's rude to hang up the phone when I'm trying to invite you and your lovely girlfriend over for Christmas! Now where is this angel from the heavens who thought it was okay to date you?"

Punching his father off his body, Ichigo stomps on his father several times and starts to yell at him. "Damn it dad! You almost killed Rukia, and we are not dating! Have you ever heard of a normal greeting in your life? And did you leave Yuzu and Karin home alone?! What kind of father are you?!" Watching everything from the ground, Rukia becomes slightly startled from the actions coming from the two Kurosaki males in the apartment. Standing up, Rukia slowly walks towards her apartment. Closing the door, Rukia sits on her couch and curls up into a ball. '_What is going on between the two? Is that how a parent is supposed to react with their child? I don't think that is normal..' _Hearing a knock at the door, Rukia feels a bit on edge. Walking to the door, she sees orange through the eye hole. Feeling less nervous, Rukia opens the door to see a scared Ichigo. "There you are Rukia! I was wondering where you went. Did my old man hurt you? Sorry about everything, I didn't think he would come by after that phone call. He is always that crazy, so don't worry. I'm sure you know why he was there since you did talk to him on the phone. Or more like he talked to you." Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo looks down and gives Rukia an apologetic look. "Will you be coming back over to eat dinner. I have the teriyaki ready for us."  
"W-will your father be there? He was quite, uhm.. Yeah I'm not sure what to say about him" Rukia looked to the side to hide her face from embarrassing herself in front of Ichigo. "No, don't worry Rukia. Look at me." Grabbing her head, Ichigo stared into her violet eyes. "He won't hurt you again, I promise. Now let's go eat. I have your favorite bunny plate for you to use." Hearing those words brought a smile to Rukia's face. She absolutely loved using that plate for every meal possible! Agreeing to his statement, Rukia walked with Ichigo back to his apartment.

Dinner turned out quite enjoyable, minus the few fights the males started. Both ended up with a few bruises on the face and one bloody nose. Rukia helped Ichigo with the bloody nose his father gave him. After the fighting, the boys came into an agreement on having a family gathering at the main house on Christmas day and the day after. Rukia happily accepted the offering. Once she warmed up to the Kurosaki father, she realized how much she actually liked the crazy father. It took awhile, but once the Kurosaki father knew about Rukia joining, he grabbed her into a big hug. This resulted into another fight and a forceful exit for the senior. The apartment finally became a quiet space with two tired teens. Starting the dishes, the two teens go over the plan for Christmas. Together the two teens finish the dishes in no time. Retiring to the couch, they decide to put on a movie. Though there is a movie on, the two don't notice and decide to talk instead. "I'm sorry my father is such a pain in the ass. He is like that with everyone. Are you sure you want to spend Christmas with my family?" "Yeah, I don't mind Ichigo. I have no one else to celebrate the holidays with." Knowing the subject was not good to poke at, ichigo lays his head down onto Rukia's lap. Sighing and looking up, Ichigo begins to start talking before drifting away. "Can you wake me up in a few minutes? I just need to rest my eyes. I'll take you back to your apartment afterwards." Slightly feeling tense, Rukia just nods her head and lean back to get comfortable on the couch. A few minutes later, Rukia hears light snores coming from Ichigo.

Taking the chance, Rukia studies the sleeping boy in her lap. _'He must be really tired if he can fall asleep so fast. What an idiot for making himself so tired. I knew I should of helped him out tonight.' _Running her hands through his hair, Rukia begins to drift off also into a comfortable nap with her friend right by her. Hours start to pass before Ichigo wakes up. He slowly opens his eyes to see lights illuminating his living room. Looking towards his right, he sees that the tv is still on. Hearing the news on the tv, he could guess it's about morning time. "Hey Rukia, you never woke me up." Turning over to talk to her, Ichigo notices the small girl still sitting on his couch asleep. _'Well I guess we both fell asleep again, she better not freak out like she did in the park. Let's find out.' _"Yo, Rukia. Time to get up sleepyhead. Come on, Chappy is on. You don't want to miss it." Stirring around, Rukia just mumbles and begins to snore again. Feeling pressure on his head, Ichigo cringes as he notices Rukia pulling on his hair. "Damn it, at this rate I'm going to lose hair." Silently praying, Ichigo pulls her hands off his head and feels relief as her hands easily come off of his orange hair. Thanking the gods, Ichigo rubs his head and soothes the pain. Picking Rukia up with no problem, Ichigo carries her to his bedroom. Placing her into his bed, Ichigo leaves with the door open and starts on breakfast.

Opening violet eyes take in the view of the bedroom. Anxiety builds up in Rukia's body as she feels like a victim in some stranger's bedroom. Checking for bruises or any damage on her body, Rukia feels slightly relieved to find none. But one sentence stayed in her mind, '_Find an escape, Now.' _Grabbing her cellphone off the nightstand, Rukia silently opens the door. Rukia sprints to the door and is about to open it towards freedom when a strong hand stops the door from swinging. "Where you going midget? I have breakfast ready." Letting go of the breath she held, Rukia turns around and punches Ichigo on the face. "Let me leave Ichigo! Do you know how freaked out I was to wake up in someone's bed? I need to go home, please let me go." Sounding desperate towards the end, Rukia lowers her head and walks out the door. Watching her walk away, Ichigo stayed planted right by the door. "Fuck!" Punching the wall, Ichigo feels anger boil through his body. Grabbing his phone he calls Rukia in hopes that she would answer, but he had no luck. Seventeen phone calls, no answer at all. Giving up for the day, Ichigo decides to get ready for a run. Tying his running shoes on and securing his Ipod on his arm, Ichigo begins to run. '_Maybe I can get my mind clear running.'_

Taking a random trail, Ichigo is lost in thought that he didn't notice a figure sitting on the ground. Falling on top, Ichigo stays still for a moment. "Kurosaki, get your giant body off of me!" Looking down, Ichigo is faced with Ishida Uryuu. Yelping in surprise, Ichigo jumps off of his body faster than you could blink. "Sorry Ishida, didn't notice you there.." Rubbing the back of his head, Ichigo decides to take a seat with him. "Okay, spill it Kurosaki. Something's wrong and you need to let it out." Blinking for a few moments, Ichigo questions how Ishida could easily read him. "Ugh, well all that I can think of is how much Rukia confuses me. First, she is this new girl who easily joins our group, which I don't mind. Then the next she becomes a different person when someone gets to close. I just feel right when I protect her and that only happens when I help her when she get's scared, but those incidents were both caused by me. If I knew what was going on, it wouldn't be frustrating." Patting Ichigo's back, Ishida has a small smile on his face. "Kurosaki, have you ever thought that maybe you are going in head first without thinking? Kuchiki seems most comfortable with you, so let her get used to all of us. I'm sure one day she will tell you her story and maybe you can tell her yours."

Standing up quickly, Ichigo's eyes become hidden and he begins to walk away. "I don't think I'm ready to let that open yet. Maybe I have some problems too. Later, Ishida." Getting up from his seat, Ishida walks around the tree and looks at the person sitting on the ground. "Don't worry Kuchiki-san, everything is fine. Now get up, let's go see Orihime. Shall we?" Standing up, Rukia accepts the offer and walks with Ishida towards the coffee shop. '_What could be hurting Ichigo?'_

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Chapter four, so suspenseful. I'm glad my friend has wi-fi, or else this chapter would have never existed. I hope you guys liked it. Read and review, please? It would make my day. I sat in a coffee shop for hours to bust this chapter out. See you next chapter. Cheers c:


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you everyone for reading this story. I really appreciate it c: This story is getting quite good and it's still the beginning! I hope you guys stay for the whole story. If you guys could, review after every story if possible. I want to know howyou guys are liking this story. Thank you mucho c:

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any kind of show/book that could make me rich or famous. All that I own is a cute orange kitten and a boyfriend. c:

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Standing at the front door, Ichigo stares straight ahead. Raising and lowering his hand every few minutes, Ichigo can't decide to knock on her door or just leave. Thinking that she wouldn't answer the door, Ichigo begins to turn around to walk back when he hears the door open. "Ichigo, what are you doing in front of my door? Did you need something?" Looking back to the open door, Ichigo scratches the back head and shows a shy smile back. "Hi Rukia. I just wanted to see if you are alright? I was hoping if you still want to spend Christmas. If not, it's okay." Waiting there for her answer, Ichigo becomes more nervous than ever. Looking at Rukia with anticipation, he sighs in relief when she accepts his offer. "I hope you know that my father will be like that all weekend, just cover yourself if I can't protect you. He is crazy when it comes to anyone." Punching Ichigo playfully in the stomach, Rukia turns around to leave. "Okay big baby, just come pick me up when we leave." Closing the door, Rukia goes to her room and begin to pack.

Knocking on the door at three in the morning, Ichigo tiredly stands in the hallway waiting for the midget to open the door. "Wakey, wakey Rukia. Time to leave to go to hell." Rubbing his face several times, Ichigo leans against the door and waits around. Not noticing the door open, Ichigo fell forward taking the person in front of him to the ground also. "Oof! What the hell? Ichigo, why were you leaning on the door when you knew I was going to open it." Rolling off of her, Ichigo picked up Rukia from the ground and grabbed her bag. "Let's get this going, I want to go through this weekend with little problems." Walking towards the bus station, Rukia and Ichigo find two seat next to a window. Driving out towards the Kurosaki house, the bus ride lasts three hours. Ichigo quickly fell asleep and Rukia decided to read some of her book from Edgar Allen Poe. "_It was many and many year ago, in a kingdom by the sea_," Feeling pressure on her shoulder, Rukia can feel orange locks softly brushing her neck. Realising that Ichigo was asleep, Rukia kept reading her book. With an hour left, Ichigo finally woke up from his little nap. Keeping his head to the side, Ichigo looks at the book Rukia is reading. "The angels, not half so happy in heaven, went envying her and me-" Startled as always by Ichigo's soothing voice, Rukia looks down and pokes him in the forehead."  
"Have a good nap? Your head weighs a lot. What's in there, rocks?" Flicking her on the cheek, Ichigo sits back up and mumbles about stupid midgets to himself.

Finally arriving to the bus station, Ichigo and Rukia begin to walk to his family's house. Walking through the park, everything is covered in a white powder. The lake is frozen over and durable for the weight of the kids on top of it. The children are circling around each other on ice skates. Several fall on their butts, but soon get up easily. Staring at them for what seemed like hours, Ichigo pushes Rukia forward. "Come on midget, we need to get to the house now. I'll take you ice skating later." Walking in step with the boy, Rukia follows him to the house. Feeling nervous, Rukia slows down and stays behind Ichigo. "Ichigo, I don't know if I can do this. What if your family doesn't want me to stay? I feel like a burden on them. I can go home, I don't mind spending Christmas alone." Halting to a stop, Ichigo turns around and grabs Rukia gently into a hug. "Stop worrying about this. My dad already loves you for only seeing you once. Better get used to this, my dad kind of told something to my sisters about us.." Falling into the snow, Ichigo was on the ground twitching with bags on his back. "Let's go Strawberry, your family is waiting for us."

Walking through the door, the two teens are ambushed by the two young twins. Getting pulled into a group hug between the four, Isshin attempts to join but is kicked away. "Get away old man! No one wants you here, so go." Isshin runs to the large poster in the living room. Crying like a child to the big poster of his wife, Isshin wails and screams. "Oh Masaki! My dear wife, what happened to our children?! I thought they loved daddy and giving him hugs!" Feeling very confused, Rukia is dragged upstairs by Yuzu and Karin. "Don't worry about the old man Rukia-nee, he always does that. I'm Yuzu and this is my sister Karin." Smiling at the twins, Rukia greets them back. Closing the door to their room, Yuzu and Karin begin to interrogate Rukia. "Okay, now spill. How long have you been going out with my idiot of a brother? Our dad told us about you when he went over to Ichi-nii's apartment. I didn't fully believe him, but now that you are here I can get the real details." Yuzu nodded her head in agreement and began to inch closer to Rukia to hear her answer.

"Uh, well.." Feeling lost at words, Rukia attempts to build a story in her head. Deciding to tell the truth, Rukia sighs and begins to speak. "To tell you the truth, we are not going out. I just met your brother not that long ago. But your dad seems so excited about it, so let's not tell him the truth. Okay? I'm sure you don't want to deal with your father if he is all hurt knowing the truth between Ichigo and I." Looking at Rukia with sad eyes, Yuzu feels disappointed that her brother did not have a girlfriend. "Rukia-nee, I thought you and Ichi were going out. You guys seemed so close when our father told us about you guys. I really like you, Rukia. You can be our big sister." Grabbing Yuzu into a hug, Rukia smiles and rubs her back. "Don't worry Yuzu, I think I will be here for a long time."

Locking the bathroom door, Rukia turns on the sink faucet and let's the water warm up. Splashing some water on her face and taking deep breaths, Rukia looks in the mirror and begins to whisper some words of encouragement. "It's okay, you can do this Rukia. No one is going to hurt you, Ichigo is here and so is his family. Just calm down, Rukia. No one will-.." Knocking sounds stop her from her trance. Opening the door, Rukia finds Ichigo looking down at her. Walking into the bathroom and closing the door, Ichigo motions Rukia to sit down onto the toilet. Kneeling down in front of her, Ichigo stares into her violet orbs. "Are you all right midget? I heard you in the bathroom when I was going to get you. Don't worry at all, I'll be here to help. So how about we go downstairs and put on a show for the old man. You are my girlfriend now in his eyes. Let's go." Grabbing her hand, Ichigo pulls Rukia down the stairs to the kitchen table. "My third daughter! You are here just in time for Christmas dinner. Let's start the festivities with the first eating contest! Let's go my boy, I shall defeat you!" Pushing his father's head into the table, Ichigo and Isshin begin to tackle and roll on the ground. Ignoring the fighting, the three girls enjoy the Christmas meal.

After the meal, three members of the Kurosaki run towards the couch to find space. Picking the movie, Isshin throws it into the dvd and presses play. Calling for the two teens to join them, Rukia and Ichigo sit on the end of the couch. Yuzu and Isshin recite most of the words during the movie and Karin just falls asleep on the floor. Ichigo watches the movie, but doesn't seem to interested. Rukia takes in the scene and smiles faintly at it. '_Well this was an interestig night, I actually feel like part of family for once. Thank you for everything Ichigo, thanks for taking the burden off my shoulders.'_ Sliding deeper into the couch, Rukia finds a comfortable position and enjoys watching the rest of the movie. Once the movie ends, Isshin picks up the twins and take them to their rooms. Coming back down the stairs, Isshin sees the two teens sleeping on the couch. Walking quietly around them, Isshin picks up his camera and takes a quick picture of the two. Whispering to himself, Isshin forms a plan in his head. "Now I can blackmail my son at any moment. Look Masaki! Our son is slowly becoming a man." Dancing up the stairs, Isshin leaves the two to sleep for the rest of the night on the couch.

Waking up as the sun shines on his face, Ichigo attempts to move around on the small couch. Feeling Rukia next to him, Ichigo opens his eyes and stares at the sleeping midget. Moving the stubborn lock away from her face, Ichigo takes the time to appreciate the girl's beauty he enjoys to think about. He never thought about showing his feelings, but he couldn't prevent them from appearing. He hasn't known Rukia for too long, but he feels close to this midget more than anyone else. Rukia isn't as annoying as all his friends or desperate like the random girls at the school. He feels like a real person around Rukia. '_I think I found a true friend Mom. Ever since you left, I didn't think I could appreciate the feeling of being wanted. But with Rukia, I think she has stopped the rain. I wish you could of met her Mom.'_ Feeling the happiness swell through his body, Ichigo feels relaxed and calm. As a guy, Ichigo would of told her his feelings, but he just doesn't think it's the right time. Overall, Ichigo enjoys what their friendship is at right now. He knows in the future their friendship will step up to another level, but he will wait for that to happen. Right now though, he will take this time to torture the midget. He enjoys messing with her too much. Pushing her off the couch, Ichigo laughs and jumps over the couch running. "What the hell Ichigo?! I will get you for this!"

Supporting the bruise on top of his head and on his shins, Ichigo scowls as he is dragged by his family outside. Rukia is walking on the side, making sure she doesn't get caught in all the wild commotion between the Kurosaki family members. Seeing the ice rink in front of her, Rukia's eyes light up with excitement. Running ahead, Rukia stands by the edge watching everyone skate around in circles. Watching all the participants happily skate, she notices how Isshin is already on the ice with Yuzu. The two are attempting to synchronize each move like professional ice skaters. The two bring giggles out of her mouth as she watches the determination in their bodies. "Hey midget, are you ready to skate or are you just going to stand there? Grabbing her skates from Ichigo, Rukia attempts to put them on. Failing at tying the skates on, Rukia sits in front of Ichigo and puts her foot up. "Can you help me Ichigo? I never skated before." Feeling embarrassed by her confession, Rukia looks away from Ichigo as he ties her skates.

Stepping onto the ice, Rukia immediately regrets her decision to put the skates on. Falling right onto her butt, Rukia feels the ice freeze her body. Trying to get up onto her feet, Rukia falls right back down onto the ice. Laughing could be heard from above as she sees Ichigo skating around her. "Awe, does poor little Rukia not know how to skate? Come on, get off the ground. I'll help you." Trying one more time, Rukia attempts to get up onto her feet. Feeling off balanced, Rukia falls forward towards Ichigo. Easily catching the girl, Ichigo steadies Rukia until she stands onto her feet without falling. Grabbing onto his hands, Rukia begins to take small strides forward. Praying to all gods that she wouldn't fall, Rukia begins to pick up speed. "Look Ichigo, I'm actuall skating! This seems way easier than I thought. Wait, no! Don't let go, please. I don't want to fall!" Smirking Ichigo attempts to let go, but intentionally doesn't let her go. "What was that? Were you begging me to not let go? I can't hear you down there midget." Punching Ichigo in the chest, Rukia loses balance and falls again. Landing next to Ichigo, Rukia glares at Ichigo as he stands back up. "Get me off this ice, I'm done. Let's leave before I break a bone." In the end, Rukia had a big bruise on her butt. Ichigo got just as many bruises that day, but not from skating.

The weekend finally comes to end for the family. Collecting all their stuff, Ichigo and Rukia say goodbye to the twins. Taking each sister into his arm, Ichigo hugs them tightly for a minute. Yuzu and Karin run over to Rukia and give her a giant hug also. "Come back soon Rukia-nee! Make sure our big brother stays out of trouble." Hugging them back, Rukia promises them to keep their brother out of trouble. Walking to the bus station, Ichigo carries the luggage onto the bus. As Rukia is about to step onto the bus, she sees something. Taking another look, Rukia sees nothing but houses. Shaking her head, Rukia takes a seat next to Ichigo. "Is something wrong Rukia?" Seeing the confusion on Ichigo's face, Rukia shakes her head and pulls out her book for the bus ride. As the bus rolls on, Rukia tightens her hands on the book. '_Please let it not be what I think it is. I don't want anyone to get hurt._' Looking at the sleeping Ichigo, Rukia turns back to her book and try to ignore the panic bubbling into her stomach.

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Here is Chapter Five! Wow this took way longer than I thought.. Hopefully the next chapter will not take as long.. Please read and review. Thank you mucho. Cheers c:


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry this took so long to come out! I have been stuck on a boat for two days with my cousin for her birthday, and let's just say I'm not the nor my boyfriend are the best sailors in the ocean.. I thought I was going to never see the land again.. I would love to thank 27kirune12, Miyako Tsubaki, NarutoLuver896, Player Zero, Star fire girl 788, The Fierce Hero, Vertorbit, mooopower, xeniasebastian3, and yagami rin for being lovely people. c: Thank you also to the guest who straight trolled me. That gave me a good laugh. Enjoy chapter six!

Disclaimer: I will never own Bleach. The only thing I dream of is being related to Tite Kubo, then I can say Iwas related to a legend.

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Chapter Six

After holiday break went, students came back and prepared for the rest of the school year. Students groaned as they went through school days. Teachers prepared the students for finals everyday of the week. Going through books and books for studying, students felt like they were drowned in books. Everyone studied in groups, hoping that the information would soak into their brains. Others though, didn't care too much about school. Once finals was spoken of, the group of boys we all know took the chance to sudy with Ishida. Grabbing some math and history books, Ichigo walks over to the group of teens sitting at the back of the library. Sitting next to Renji and Keigo, Ichigo opens up the math books. "Alright, let's start with math. Hopefully Renji can learn something." Throwing a book to Ichigo's head, Renji crosses his arms and mumbles very choiced words. "Okay you two, let's not fight. Remember, we have a bet against the girls to get a higher score." Listening to Ishida, the two just glare at each other and start studying the math problems. "So, how does X get by itself? Why can't X and Y get together?"

Over on the other side of the library resided the girls of the group. Flying through the text books, the girls had no problem studying for finals. Grabbing their books, the girls begin to walk our heading towards the entrance. "How about we all go to the mall today? We should look for kimonos for the spring festival! Kuchiki-San come join us." Smiling at Orihime, Rukia agrees to go shopping with the girls. Following the girls through the dress store, Rukia feels overwhelmed by this experience. Grabbing random kimonos, the girls go try each one to find the perfect one. "Awe, Kuchiki-san! that kimono looks amazing on you. I'm sure you will get all the guys looking!Maybe even Kurosaki-kun!" blushing at Orihime's bold statement, Rukia runs back into the dressing room. Looking at herself in the mirror, Rukia questions about the spring festival. At the spring festival, girls wear traditional kimonos. Guys also wear kimonos, but either go with an all black or blue one.

During the spring festival, students arrive at Karakura Park. The festival lasts all day long with many activities. Once the sun goes down, everyone gathers around for fireworks. Many students stay after the fireworks to sleep at the park. Building tents, students stay over night and have a huge breakfast. The tradition started several years ago when the firework shows became bigger. Hearing about the tradition from Orihime, Rukia anticipates for the day to come. But for now, finals had to be completed.

When the day of finals came, everyone was tired and ready to get it over with. Feeling more grumpy than before, Rukia becomes a zombie walking through class. Not noticing everyone, Rukia bumps into many people. "So did we ruse from the dead last night? You look quite pale." Glaring at Renji, Rukia punches him right in the face. Students begin to laugh seeing Renji on the ground with a bruised cheek. Sitting at her desk, Rukia waits for the test to be handed out.

Staring at the girl next to him, Ichigo silently laughs at the actions from Rukia. Looking back at the test, Ichigo groans when he sees confusing formulas and equations. '_Damn it, I knew it was a bad idea to play video games last night with Chad and Renji. I should of studied last night when I had the chance.'_ Filling in the bubbles, Ichigo prayed to every god in the sky he would pass. Looking at the paper, Ichigo turned it in. Seeing Rukia already finished, Ichigo nudges her and smiles. Hitting his elbow, Rukia concentrates on her book.

Taking a look at the board in front of them, students gather around to see the test scores of their finals. Many groaned as they saw the low scores they received. Others cheered at how high they placed. Girls began to cheer as they noticed how many more higher scores they go than the boys. Declaring victory, the girls received the prize they won. Having the guys cover the costs at the spring festival. Looking at their wallets sadly, the guys prepare for the most expensive night they will have at the spring festival.

Walking to Orihime's house, Rukia arrives to the house first. Ringing the bell, Rukia hears Orihime running down the stairs and swinging the door open. Flying back up the stairs, Rukia barely has time to register where she is going. Being thrown onto the bed, Orihime begins to walk around her bed. Having a quizzical face on, Orihime steps in front of Rukia. "Now Kuchiki-San, I'm the detective here. What's going on with you and Kurosaki-kun?! You two seem very close. Tell me, tell me. I must know! We could go on a double date! You, me, Ishida-kun, and Kurosaki-kun." Choking on air, Rukia feels like she is dying from Orihime's interrogation. Hitting her chest, Rukia finally feels air being filled into her lungs. "Oh no, Inoue. Me and Ich-Kurosaki are just friends! No-nothing more. Let's get ready for the festival, shall we?" Orihime jumps up and down with excitement. Getting her kimono on in no time, Orihime helps Rukia with hers. Standing behind Rukia, Orihime notices slight discoloring on Rukia's back. Touching the bruises, she notices the flinch that comes from Rukia's back.

"Kuchiki-san? Are you alright? You have several bruises on your back." looking back at Orihime, Rukia slightly smiles to not worry Orihime about the bruises. "Ah, don't worry at all Inoue. I just fell on my back the other day and I bruise easily." Looking at her back one more time, Orihime pulls the kimono up on Rukia and finishes the process of tying. Once Orihime and Rukia finished getting ready, the ret of the girls finally came over. Waiting for the guys, the girls sit in a circle talking. "I can't wait to spend Renji's money tonight! I will enjoy his suffering." Tatsuki was the most excited about this victory from finals. Knocking at the door could be heard throughout the house. Scrambling to the door, the girls look out the window to see all the guys standing outside in their kimonos. Walking out the door, the group of teens head down to the festival. Walking through the town, the teens split up in pairs and seperate from each other.

Walking through the food aisles, Ichigo and Rukia find a good sushi bar. They both mutually agreed on finding food first for lunch when both their stomachs roared with hunger. Following Rukia, Ichigo fell behind when trying to keep up with the small teen. Looking in front, Ichigo observes Rukia in the kimono. The dark purple matches her skin and eyes perfectly. Feeling the blush in his face heat up, Ichigo walks closer to Rukia and stares at all the guys. Trying to fight off the guys, Ichigo stared them down as if he was promising them death. He never thought this was wrong, he thought he was protecting Rukia from the creepy guys. He didn't care that he seemed like a protective boyfriend, he just didn't want to lose Rukia. Finding the sushi stand, Ichigo let Rukia pick out the meal. Walking over to Rukia with the meal, Ichigo sees a random guy sitting right next to her.

Tapping the guy on the shoulder, Ichigo glares at the random guy. "Hey dude, can you please leave? She isn't interested, get lost." The guy stands up and walks closely to Ichigo. Poking Ichigo in the chest, the stranger laughs and attempts to sound threatening towards Ichigo. "Do you know who I am punk? I'm the great Kon! I always get what I want. So why don't you run along, and let me play around." Rolling his eyes, Ichigo pushes Kon over and sits with Rukia. "Seriously? Just leave us alone. Can't you see I'm enjoying my lunch with my _girlfriend?"_ Smirking at Kon's astonishing face, Ichigo waves his hand as the guy walks away. Rukia gapes at the situation and smacks Ichigo in the back of the head. "What was that for idiot?! You are acting really strange." Grumbling, Ichigo just looks away and begins to eat some sushi. Getting up from the table, Rukia grabs Ichigo and go down towards the game section.

Looking at all the games, Ichigo becomes slightly bored. His eyes begin to wander around the area. Seeing little kids, Ichigo thinks about the last time he went here. It was about seven years since he came here. Seven years ago when Ichigo's mother and father took him to this festival. Seeing a game on the right hand side, Ichigo feels the memories come rushing back into his head.

(Seven years ago, Spring Festival)

_Running around the park, Ichigo laughs as his mother chases him around. Feeling arms around him, Ichigo didn't notice his father grabbing him and hanging him upside down. "L-let me go daddy! Ahh! Ha ha Haha, daddy I can feel all the blood rush to my head." Flipping back upwards, Ichigo sloppily runs towards his mother and hides. Laughing at this sight, Masaki grabs Ichigo's hand and walks towards a booth. "Come on Ichigo, let's go play a game at the festival. We can go back to the park later. Now go run with your father towards the booth. Nodding at his mother, Ichigo begins to run down the hill with Isshin._

_Reaching the game booth, Ichigo looks at all the glass bowls. Watching kids throw balls into the bowls, Ichigo wonders what he could win. Seeing towards the back, Ichigo finds several fish swimming around. Grabbing some change, Ichigo waits patiently to play the game. Receiving three balls, Ichigo begins to play. Missing the first two, Ichigo begins to feel a little doubt in him. About to throw the third ball, Isshin comes behind Ichigo and stops him. "Now, now my little son. Let me help you with the last throw." Grabbing part of Ichigo's hand, Isshin helps him throw the ball. Landing into the bowl, Ichigo jumps up and down in excitement. Earning a fish, Ichigo turns around to look for his mother to show her his prize. Not seeing her anywhere, Ichigo walks back towards the park. Seeing his mother with a few strange looking men, Ichigo is curious as to what is going on. Running towards his mother, Ichigo catches a glimpse of the sad face on his mother. "What's wrong mommy? Is everything alright? Look what I got you. A fish!" Seeing her son, Masaki smiles and hugs her son. "Let's name the fish Zangetsu Mom!"_

(Present Time, Spring Festival)

Ichigo looks at the fish for a few more minutes. Swimming in circles, the fish keep going and going. Moving his attention away from the fish, Ichigo begins to look around to see where Rukia went. Not finding the dark purple kimono he knew Rukia was wearing, Ichigo began to feel slightly panic. Walking around the area, Ichigo still cannot find the midget. Picking up his speed, Ichigo sees many faces. But the face he is looking for is no where to be seen. "Rukia? Rukia where the hell are you midget? Time to not play any games here." Running around even faster, Ichigo runs around looking. Running into people several times, Ichigo can't handle the pressure. Cursing, Ichigo sits down at a random bench. Throwing his head back, Ichigo looks up at the sky. Seeing clouds move around, Ichigo feels sudden saddness flood his heart. _'Where could have you gone Rukia? Please be safe when I find you.'_

On the other side of the festival, Rukia is laying on the ground in a dirty puddle. Looking up with fear, Rukia sees the one person she didn't want to see ever. Feeling blood run down her face, Rukia wipes it off and tries to crawl away from the attacker. Stepping on her kimono, the man picks her up by her hair and slams her onto the wall. "What's wrong Rukia? You thought this would be over when you ran away? Oh you were absolutely wrong, so wrong it makes me laugh. Now look at me and hear me clearly. Your father and I will find you. You will regret running away. Rukia Kuchiki, remember my name forever. I'm Sosuke Aizen, and I will take you back to your father. Now go back, I'm sure your orange haired friend is looking for you." Throwing her back to the ground, Aizen walks away laughing.

Picking herself back up, Rukia begins to slowly limp towards a tree in the park. Sliding down the tree stump, Rukia closes her eyes. Attempting to block out the pain coursing through her body, Rukia didn't notice the commotion coming towards her. Wiping off the blood, Rukia feels a hand touching her cheek. Wincing at the pain, Rukia swats the hand away. Opening her eyes, Rukia sees a face full of worry. Moving her head backwards, Rukia hits the back of the tree. This triggers pain to run through her head at full speed. Grabbing her head, Rukia groans in pain. Craddling her body, Ichigo pulls Rukia up into his arms. Ichigo begins to run towards the clinic to help Rukia. Pushing his limits, Ichigo runs as fast as he can. His lungs struggle to keep up with the fast activity and slowly loses the ability to keep oxygen in. The doors fly open as he runs into the clinic. Ichigo looks around to find some help for Rukia. "Help! Help! I need some help right now. Please just help! She is losing blood from her head!" Nurses come running up to Ichigo and grab Rukia. Putting her onto a gurney, the nurses roll her down the hallway. Ichigo is left in the waiting room with no one. Sitting in a chair, Ichigo wipes the sweat off his face. Breathing deeply, Ichigo closes his eyes and wait. He waits for the answer to what has happened. '_What the hell happened Rukia? Who did this to you?'_

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I apologise to everyone who was waiting! This will not happen again. Please enjoy this chapter. c: A review will be lovely, thank you. Cheers c:


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone! I'm on a roll this week. I just keep getting ideas to write for my two stories. I just love to thank all of you guys and I hope you know that I appreciate the love and support. I hope you guys keep reading and follow this story. Thanks for the views/follows/reviews/favorites. You guys rock c:

Disclaimer: I will never own Bleach. I just own this apartment and have an amazing boyfriend. c:

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_Beep..Beep..Beep._ Sitting next to the cot in the hospital room. Ichigo just listens to the beating of the machine. Looking at Rukia, Ichigo sees a lifeless body. He feels heartbroken looking at this broken body. Ichigo still remembers all the information that was given to him today at the doctors. The news was quite shocking, but overall he is glad it is nothing too serious. Rukia was in the middle of the big bed filled with white sheets. Covering her arm was an intravenous needle that fed her morphine. Rukia looked like a small girl hidden in sheets. This killed Ichigo as he knew that he could of stopped this. Grabbing her hand softly, Ichigo slowly rubs the back of her hand. Leaning on the side of the bed, Ichigo sighs loudly and closes his eyes. "Come on Rukia, please wake up soon."

Knocking could be heard throughout the room and Ichigo looked over to the door. Seeing dark hair, Ichigo felt relieved when it was Ishida who walked in and nobody else. "How is she doing Kurosaki?" Ishida walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Ichigo looked up with empty eyes and answered the questioning boy. "The doctors said she will be fine. They estimated that she will wake up either today or tomorrow. I knew I shouldn't have let her out of my sight. I could of prevented this Ishida." Patting his back, Ishida felt sympathy towards his friend. He has not seen this much emotion coming out of Ichigo since before his mother's death. "She just needs to wake up, I just need to see her and make sure she is alright." Looking back at Rukia, Ichigo finds a comfortable position. Knowing that he will probably stay there for the rest of the day, Ishida gives his condolences and fairwells as he left.

Checking the clock for the third time, Ichigo counted the minutes that passed. Seven hours and thirteen minutes had passed since he arrived today. The only time he walked away was for food and the bathroom, but the majority of the day was spent sitting next to the small girl. Grabbing her hand once again, Ichigo slowly moved his thumb in circular motions. Feeling only coldness from her hand, Ichigo shivers at the body temperature. Finally as the minutes pass by, Ichigo could feel slumber coming over his body. Closing his eyes, he almost missed the moment he felt small pressure on his hand. Gasping at the sudden pressure, Ichigo looks up to see the movement of blinking eyes. Feeling the weight fall off his shoulders, Ichigo grabs Rukia and draws her close to his body. Pressing his lips onto the top of her head, Ichigo could feel warmth from her body. "Rukia, you do not know how worried I was."

Confused by feeling a body by her, Rukia can not remember much. Grabbing his hand, Rukia holds still for a few moments. Looking up at Ichigo, she feels relieved. Knowing that she is safe, Rukia lets a small smile grace her face. Leaning back down onto the bed, Rukia closes her eyes again. "Hey sleepyhead, don't fall asleep yet. I've waited so long for you to wake up." Lightly poking her cheek, Ichigo attempts to make Rukia open her eyes up. "Ugh, Ichigo. Stop it.. I'll wake up later. Just give me a few minutes." Trying to roll out of his arms, Rukia fails to get out of Ichigo's arms. "No way, stop it. Rukia you are going to explain everything from the beginning. The doctors already asked me about the bruiseI and scars on your body. Start talking midget, time to explain everything from the beginning." Taking a deep breath, Rukia grabs Ichigo's hand for support as she starts her story of horror.

(10 years ago, Kuchiki Residence)

_Foot steps echo across the hallway. Laughter fills up all the rooms as two little girls run around. It's only January and the town is over filled with snow. Rukia just turned the age of six two days ago. Running around being chased by her sister, Hisana, Rukia is the happiest child. "Nee-san, Nee-san! Let's go find mommy and daddy! I want to go out in the snow with everyone." Grabbing Hisana's hand, Rukia begins the journey to find her parents. It is a hard challenge for the two girls to find their parents in such a large house, but Rukia has been lucky in always finding them. Going down the hall, the siblings notice the darkness coming from the room of their parents. Putting their heads against the door, all they can hear is heavy breathing and cursing._

_Attempting to open the door, Rukia struggles to grasp the door as Hisana tries to pull her back. The struggle lasts only a minute before Rukia became victorious in the contest. The door opens to something that surprises both children. On the floor was their mother laying crumpled on the floor and their father next to her trying to find a pulse. Cursing out loud, Ryu Kuchiki picks up his wife and sets her onto the bed. Feeling tears gather up in her eyes, Rukia races towards the bed. "Mommy, mommy what's wrong? Wake up mommy, w-wake up. Pl-please." Croaking towards the end, Rukia kneels downs on the floor by the bed. The sky begins to cry with Rukia throughout the night as she stayed on the floor._

_Three days later after the incident, a funeral was held for the close family. It was discovered by the coroners that the Kuchiki mother committed a suicide via prescription drugs. At the hearing if this report, Ryu became aggressive towards his two children. Late night drinking became a habit and physical abuse became a hobby. Walls and doors were targets at first, but soon Ryu Kuchiki blamed his daughters for giving their mother a terrible life. The two girls at first only received slaps, but later received punches and kicks. Every other night the Kuchiki siblings would each get a round of abuse by their father. Bruises and cuts began to splatter across Rukia's and Hisana's body. Of course beating was not the only thing they received, meals became more scarce for them. Days would go by with only very little food, sometimes no food at all._

_With this happening to the girls, sickness came often. Hisana became more sick by each day. Rukia often took care of her sister and protected her from being beaten. Cuts and bruises appeared more on Rukia's body throughout the months. The months became years and Hisana's health did not approve. At first they believed it was malnutrition that often got Hisana sick, but they were soon proven wrong. One night when their father drank himself to sleep, the girls were able to run off. Finding a new shelter, the girls found a local clinics that happily took them in._

_"Well Hisana Kuchiki, the test results came back in. You have this rare type of cancer. Unfortunately the main area affected is your heart and lungs. The poor living conditions you resided in weakened your immune system. At this rate I can guess you will at the most have two years to live. I apologize for the terrible news, I'll give you a few minutes to discuss this with your sister." The doctor leaves Hisana and Rukia to discuss the terrible news of the her sister into her arms, Hisana comforts Rukia. "Don't worry Rukia, I will be okay." Hearing her sister's words barely helped the sadness in her heart. Rukia felt the darkness take over her heart._

_Afrer the doctor visit, Rukia and Hisana travel to different shelters as they avoid their old house. Being successful, the Kuchiki siblings never have a problem involving their father, finally living a peaceful life once again. Three years pass and the Kuchiki twins feel optimistic about the older one's health condition. With the help from their present guardian, Sosuke Aizen, Hisana has been able to go to doctor appointments for treatments. Living with Aizen has been great for the two, but for about a year until it turned upside down._

_Sosuke Aizen helped them and gained their trust over the year if living together. Rukia believed that she found a guy who could help her and her sister through trouble, but she was wrong. Aizen became more aggressive towards the girls. Slowly they saw Aizen become a new person, a new person that reminded them of a familiar figure. That figure was Ryu Kuchiki. If Rukia or Hisana did something wrong, Aizen would lock them in the closet or basement. They would receive no food for the whole day, but sometimes they would be let out early. They didn't receive physical abuse as often as they first did with their father, but they still got hit. Hisana eventually became more sick and Rukia couldn't help. During one night in the basement, they hear the door open._

_Up at the top was two figures, their father and Aizen. Watching them walk down the stairs, Rukia and Hisana back away. unfortunately for the two, they were too slow from the men. The first thing they did was tie up Rukia onto a pole so she couldn't escape. Rukia begins to scream and cry as she sees her sister get beaten up. Blood is coming out from her sister's body, Rukia can no longer look at the scene. What seem like days after, Rukia can finally loosen the rope on her wrists. Crawling over to the body of Hisana, Rukia just stares at her knowing she is not coming back. The next day her body disappeared and Rukia returned back with her dad. That was the last time she ever saw Hisana or that house with Aizen._

(Present Time, Karakura Clinic)

Staring deeply into Rukia's eyes, Ichigo tightens his grip around her. He knows how hard it was for her to tell him that terrible story. He feels the silent tears stain his shirt, but he doesn't care. Caressing her back softly, Ichigo feels emotions running through his whole body. Her story has got him to think about how troubled she really was. Ichigo now feels even more responsible for protectin her from the cruel men in the world. Bringing his mouth to her ear, Ichigo softly speaks to Rukia. "Rukia, I'm so sorry. I'm here now, I'll protect you. How about when you leave here, we can have a movie night?" Squeezing Ichigo, Rukia feels relief knowing she has this friend. "That will be cool Ichigo, I would love to."

Two hours later, Rukia was discharged from the hospital. Ichigo was ready to leave right that instant to get home, but Rukia took her time. Ichigo got everything prepared for them to leave and called a cab. "Let's go Rukia! Time to get out of this boring place." Playfully hitting his shoulder, Rukia leaves Ichigo behind and climbs into the cab. Taking the cab ride home was silent for them, but it was not uncomfortable for them. Leaning onto Ichigo, Rukia gets comfortable for the ride home. Stopping in front of the house, Ichigo carries their bags and Rukia herself. It was no problem for Ichigo to carry everything, but Ichigo sure wished that Rukia was up with him. Opening his door, Ichigi plops Rukia on the couch and grabs some blankets.

Moving Rukia over a little, Ichigo lays down next to Rukia. Finding a comfortable spot, Ichigo pulls Rukia closer and relaxes. Closing his eyes, Ichigo falls into a peaceful sleep. Hours passed until a body begins to stir. Opening her eyes, Rukia begins to wake up from her nap. Stretching out like a cat, Rukia feels a warm presence behind her. Looking down her body, she sees a pair of arms around her. Not feeling startled at all, Rukia leans back toward the boy. Looking up, Rukia smirks at the sight and lifts her hand up. Flicking the boy behind her, Rukia feels victorious as she woke up Ichigo. "What was that for? I was trying to sleep peacefully." Laughing at his response, Rukia sits up and grabs the remote. "Come on Strawberry, we need to watch movies like you promised." Pulling Rukia back onto the couch, the two prepare for a long night of movies and popcorn.

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Here is the next chapter! I hope you guys liked it, I thought it was sweet at the end. Please read and review, you will be awesome. See you all next chapter. Cheers c:


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you all! You guys are so amazing c: I would like to thank: Lyfelzmymuzik, NarutoLuver896, Star fire girl 788, Vertorbit, majrob, 27kirune12, Miyako Tsubaki, Player Zero, The Fierce Hero, xeniasebastian3, mooopower, and yagami rin. I always appreciate the support from you all. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I know I had fun writing this. Well I have fun writing all these chapters c:

Disclaimer: I will never own Bleach. Don't we all wish that we could own it? But then again, it wouldn't be amazing. I don't any of the lyrics either, I'm not musically talented. We can just say I own my boyfriend and his love. c:

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Chapter 8

The favorite time of year for all students and teacher is the end of the school year. All students finish their finals and other projects for classes that they would never take again. Teachers grade the last assignments of the year and give students either passing or failing grades. Watching the clock closely, the students count down the time before summer starts. Keigo is following the second hand keeping in synch with the seconds. The torture was dragging as the hour slowly came to an end. When the bell finally reached everyone's ears, students and teachers rushed out of the school. Cheering and yelling around, students went their own ways to go celebrate the start of summer. Keigo begins to gather people around as he announces his plan to the group. "Ladies and gentlemen! It's that time of year again where we don't have to worry about school! Let's all get together and party!" Letting Keigo have his fun, the group decide to agree on the idea. Choosing Orihime's house as the party central, everyone decided to split up and get ready.

Looking through her closet, Rukia looks for a bathing suit. Feeling the heat on her all day long made her desire the need to go swimming. Thankfully for the group, Orihime has a big pool in her backyard. Putting on her bathing suit, Rukia walks up to the door as she hears three knocks against the door. Opening the door slightly, Rukia looks to see her neighbor. "What's the password?" Scowling at the silly question, Ichigo lowers his face to be even with Rukia. "Operation Deathberry 423, now let me in." Pushing the door open, Ichigo walks in and plops onto his spot on the couch. For the past few months during school, Ichigo and Rukia got quite closer with each other. Many students believed that they were going out, but they were only friends. Close friends, but not dating. There was a big difference and they always clarified that to people. Of course behind their backs, everyone was all joined into a gamble to see when they would date. Keigo was the first one to lose the bet, betting that they would date in the first month. More people joined after the first month and soon the pot began to grow in wealth. Somehow the whole school became involved and not once did the pair seem suspicious by the many stares and glances given.

Walking towards the Orihime's house, Ichigo and Rukia walk side by side down the hot sidewalk. Moving the bags in his one hand, Ichigo scowls at the fact that he is carrying all their belongings. As the two crossed the streets, it became more crowded as they walked down the sidewalk. Grabbing onto Rukia's hand, Ichigo weaves through the people. Tightening his grip on his hand, Ichigo looks back to make sure Rukia is still behind. Looking up to Ichigo, Rukia smiles and squeezes her hand. The two keep walking hand in hand, not noticing that the two look very close to each other. Stepping up onto the stairs, Ichigo and Rukia both let go and wait for the door to open. "I don't know why we are here Rukia. I don't want to deal with Keigo. Can we just go back and watch some movies?" Patting his back, Rukia smiles and turns around to greet Orihime. The two walk into the house with Orihime towards the living room where everyone else is. Since Ichigo and Rukia were the last two to come in, everyone went to put on bathing suits to go swimming.

The girls all sit on the Orihime's bed as they each put on their bathing suits. Each girl has a different colored bikini on. Orihime's is brown and Tatsuki has a fire red one on. All the girls wait to see what one Rukia has. "Rukia come on! The boys are waiting for us to come down stairs." Opening the door, Rukia shyly looks down to the ground as she walks out. Wearing a dark purple swim suit, all the girls gush about how cute Rukia looks. "Oh my Rukia! Don't you look amazing! I'm sure Kurosaki-kun will have his eyes-mmmph" Tatsuki rushes over and clamps her hand on Orihime's rambling mouth. Staring at the girls and feeling curious as to what they were trying to say, Rukia just shrugs her shoulders and begins to head down the stairs. When Rukia steps into the living room, the boys begin to whistle at her and check her out in her bathing suit. Feeling very embarrassed, Rukia puts her towel over her body and runs to the backyard.

"Rukia wait! Oi, midget! Calm down, I stopped the guys." Grabbing her arm, Ichigo pulls Rukia around to face him. Seeing her face all red made Ichigo smirk. Grabbing her face between his hands, Ichigo makes Rukia look up to him. "Well don't you look cute in this bathing suit. Let's go swimming, it's hot." Laughing at her shocked reaction, Ichigo runs and jumps into the pool splashing Rukia with the water. Pulling her towel off, Rukia jumps into the water as well. Opening her eyes as she sinks down to the bottom, Rukia swims over to the legs above her. Taking both ankles into hostage, Rukia pulls Ichigo down into the deep end with her. Swimming away as fast as possible, Rukia tries to escape but fails. Ichigo pulls Rukia and keeps her as they surface the top. "Yo Renji! I got a prisoner! Let's put her in the ice tub. Opening the door from hearing his name, Renji runs over to grab Rukia. "Let me guys go! Stop please!" Ignoring the yells from Rukia, Ichigo and Renji dump her into the ice tub. Jumping from the coldness, Rukia is seething in anger. Grabbing some ice, Rukia dumps it onto Ichigo and Renji. The two boys scream from the coldness of the ice on their body. Everyone begins to laugh and join in on the fun. All the teens relax in the pool during the hot day until their bodies get cold.

Gathering around into a circle, the group all sit down in the living room. Prepared in pajamas, the group know they will stay up all night and eventually fall asleep. Grabbing the futons from the closet, Orihime looks at Tatsuki as she only grabs half of them. "What are you doing Tatsuki? Don't we need more futons for everyone here?" Shaking her head and closing the door, Tatsuki begins to walk back to the group. "Don't worry Orihime, I want to see if my plan will work." Following Tatsuki, Orihime doesn't question her motive anymore. Laying out all of the futons, everyone stares at Tatsuki in curiosity. "Sorry everyone, I couldn't find enough futons. Looks like we will have to pair up." All the girls paired up with each other, leaving the guys to pair up with one another. Unfortunately two pairs of people had to mix up. Ichigo and Renji flat out refused to even sleep next each other. Tatsuki swallowed her pride and volunteered to take Renji as Ichigo got paired up with Rukia. All the teens stared at the two to see how they would react with each other. Watching the two closely, all the teens got disappointed as the two kept distances while sharing the futon. One by one, people began to fall asleep. Ichigo and Rukia were the last two to stay up.

Facing each other, the two stare deeply into one another's eyes. Ichigo scoots a little closer as he reaches his hand out to mover her bangs. Rukia feels slightly embarrassed by the contact and softly pushes his hand away. Smirking at her response, Ichigo slightly slaps her hand away back. Soon the two end up in a quiet slap war that left them laughing like school children. Ichigo rolls over to his other side and pulls out an Ipod from his backpack. Giving one ear piece to Rukia, the two listen to music for the rest of the night. Rukia falls asleep first, and soon Ichigo follows her actions. The two don't notice the music still playing as they leave the Ipod on.

_My eyes open to the sound of a song I've heard before  
Don't know the name, but I know all of the words_

The sun seeped through the windows slowly. It was still early in the morning as light snores echoed through the large house. Feeling the sun hit his face, Ichigo begins to stir from his sleep. Rubbing his eyes a couple times, it takes Ichigo a few minutes to recognize where he was and what was going on. Remembering where he was, Ichigo looks around to see other sleeping bodies. Ichigo sees that his Ipod is still on the futon playing. Attempting to grab the Ipod, Ichigo feels that his arms are around a small body. Looking down, Ichigo finds Rukia snuggled between his arms. Seeing her face buried into this chest, Ichigo moves his head and rest it right above hers. Feeling calm and content with this position, Ichigo feels the heaviness of sleep reach his eyes once more. Closing them, Ichigo takes one last look at Rukia and the room.

_Keep me feeling safe and sound  
__When everything that's right is upside down_

When Rukia feels a light shift in the futon, she ignores it. Keeping her eyes closed, Rukia stays close to the warm body that is by her. She knows perfectly well who she is sleeping next to, and shoe doesn't mind one bit. Rukia honestly felt safe by Ichigo always. There were times where she felt scared, but when they end up in a situation like this, she feels fine. Opening her eyes, Rukia is met with a sleeping Ichigo. Smiling at his calm face, Rukia studies his face up close for once. Seeing no frown, Rukia already enjoys it all. She believes that Ichigo looks more nice and innocent without that frown that rests on his face on a daily basis. She can feel his breath slightly on her face as he breathes in and out. Rukia notices the drool that is on the corner of his mouth also. Smiling at this sight, Rukia reaches up to grab a lock of his hair. Smoothing it out, Rukia can see the smile form on Ichigo's face. Her hand begins to tense as she sees honey eyes staring at her. Sleepiness is easily shown on the boy's face. Ichigi smiles down and pulls her closer to his body. Rukia is not sure how to react at first, but she realizes that she is comfortable.

"Awe! You two look so cute. Tatsuki. Tatsuki! Wake up, your plan did work!" Waking up to Orihime's loud voice, Tatsuki looks over to see a red faced Ichigo and Rukia. Smirking at the two, Tatsuki falls back down and begins to speak. "Can you guys wait two more weeks to go out? I want to win the bet badly." Glaring at Tatsuki, Ichigo flips her off and dives back down under the covers. Laughing bursts throughout the room at Ichigo's actions. Orihime got up and pulled Rukia out of the futon. "Come on girls! Let's go make some breakfast for everyone!" All the girls made their way to the kitchen and began to make waffles. Rukia was helping by cooking the bacon. "Oh my sweet Rukia, you will become my amaz..-" "THWACK" Ichigo and Renji punch Keigo into the wall and drag him out of the kitchen. Distracted from the situation, Rukia didn't watch what was going on with the bacon and was met with very hot grease on her skin. "Ow! What the hell was that?" Looking at her skin, Rukia can see slight burns forming on her arm. Hearing footsteps behind her, Rukia turns around to see Ichigo walking up to her in quick strides. She could see the worried expression on his face as he grabs her arm and puts it under running water from the sink. "Jesus midget. Can't you be more careful? I can't always save you." Chuckling at his own response, Ichigo finishes up and checks her arm. "It's all good midget, now get out so you don't burn yourself again."

Sitting around the table, the teens all ate their breakfast silently. Some of them had to double up on chairs and plates since Orihime didn't have much silverware. "Sorry guys, I honestly was not prepared for this! Next time I will have enough for everyone." Smiling at his girlfriend, Ishida kisses her cheeks and takes her hand. "You did wonderful Orihime, I thought this was amazing." Quickly getting up from the table, all the teens decided to leave from watching the two and their public affections. "Hey lovebirds, keep it to yourself in the bedroom. NOT THE KITCHEN." Renji yells as he shields his eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about Abarai, I saw you and Tatsuki awfully close last night." Ishida feels a victory in his ego as he watches Renji's face match his bright red hair. Tatsuki walks over to Ishida and punches him roughly on the shoulder. "Stupid! I thought I told you not to bring that up ever! Orihime, contain your boyfriend." Everyone tries to hide their laugh but utterly fail. Tatsuki glares at everyone and looks like she is about to kill all the males in the room. Running out of the house all the guys try and hide from a painful death. "Kuchiki-san you better go find Kurosaki-kun, I don't think you want to carry a dead body." Looking over to Orihime, Rukia smiles. "Don't worry Inoue-san, he will be fine."

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Sorry everyone that took soo long! It's hard to do this, go to school, and take care of my boyfriend who just had surgery.. I promise to try and update as soon as possible with this story and my other story! I hope you liked this chapter though. Read and review. You guys are awesome. Cheers c:


	9. Chapter 9

So, I believe I have a rare form of senioritis.. That is why I am dragging the space between each chapter now for both my stories. I got bag under my eyes, ugly little bags. I'm ready to die here from work, school, and writing. I shall not give up though! If you are reading this and reviewing, well you are pretty damn awesome :) Oh, you guys need to know that I'm changing the date for a certain thing to fit the season.. You guys will see! I will stop talking randomly now. How about the chapter now?

Disclaimer- I will neve own Bleach. Nor shall I own anything that could make me famous ;(

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Chapter 9

Fall is a season of beauty. Many don't care for this season as it starts to cool down to winter. Even though trees begin to die, the beauty is truly with them. Petals and leaves fall from the trees daily and litter the ground. Watching the cherry blossoms seemed like a show. Seeing the pink petals were quite lovely to everyone. With all this beauty around, you would think everyone would be in a calm happy mood. No that is not the case with Ichigo Kurosaki. Every time this year, Ichigo felt rain. Rain poured down in his heart and made him feel like he was drowning. Seven years of constant raining in his heart and it never stopped. Taking a drag of the cigarette, Ichigo closes his eyes. He always promised himself that he would quit, but it was hard not to on this day. As a young kid, he always saw his father light up one cigarette once a year and his mother thought he looked so cool. So Ichigo decided to follow his father in that tradition. Taking a few more puffs from the cigarette, Ichigo throws it down on the ground. Leaning against the tree, Ichigo decides to rest for awhile.

Walking with a camera, Rukia walks around the park taking pictures of the trees. Rukia enjoys the season best because of the scenes she can capture with her camera. Every year she tries to take hundreds of shots for a collage. Her favorite piece is a transition picture of one tree in a period of a year. Everyday she took a picture of the tree and put the photos together. It was quite beautiful to the eye seeing a difference of the tree in a period of a year. Walking around taking a few pictures of the tree, she spots a orange blob amongst the pink. Focusing her camera, Rukia takes a couple shots of the scene in front of her. Reviewing the few photos, she noticed the smoke coming from his mouth in each picture. Frowning, she realized that the smoke was from a cigarette. Walking up to Ichigo she pokes the back of his head. "What are you up to sitting here alone?" Looking up towards the small girl above him, Ichigo gives Rukia a small smile and looks back down. "Nothing much midget, what are you up to?" Sitting next to him, Rukia takes her camera and shows him. Looking through the pictures, Ichigo is fascinated by each of the pictures on the camera.

Grabbing her camera, Rukia decides to leave as she notices Ichigo being more quiet than usual. Walking down the busy streets, Rukia weaves through the crowd as best as she can. Bumping into people everyone once in awhile, Rukia does not notice the eyes following her down the street. Turning down a few streets, Rukia is able to avoid the crowd. Walking through one alley, Rukia felt slightly skeptical as she barely hears the foot steps behind her. Turning around, Rukia is faced with nothing but an empty alley. Walking a bit faster through the area, Rukia feels anxious as she imagined eyes watching her. Rukia begins to run down the alley, she trips over her own feet and fall into a puddle. Picking herself up she looks behind and is faced with a person. "Long time no see Kuchiki-san, seems like you had a fall. I'll help you." Trying to run away, Rukia was too slow to avoid being kicked back down. Coughing as she felt the air fly out of her body, Rukia watches as Sosuke Aizen pickes her up and takes her through a door. Feeling the air come back into her body, Rukia attempts to yell out but is stopped by a white cloth. Soon her eyes began to drop from heaviness, and then everything went black.

Three hours, three hours Rukia would have guessed. She already came to the conclusion that she has been drugged and dragged away somewhere. She doesn't have a clue where she is, but she knows that Aizen is the one that took her. She looks around in the blank room, no windows and just one door. Moving was not an option at all for Rukia. She had a hard time getting up with shackles on her wrists and ankles. Sitting in the corner of the room, Rukia felt like the door was miles away. Rukia stares at the door as she sees light coming out of it and a body also. Looking up, Rukia glares at the man in front of her. Scooting back farther into the corner, Rukia tries to get away. "Now, now Rukia. Don't be scared of me. I'm just here to talk and take care of you until your father gets back." Feeling the temperature drop in the room, Rukia tries to comprehend what was going on. _'He found me? But how? This is not good, Ichigo must be going crazy now.'_ As Aizen kept talking, Rukia secretly moved her hand around her pocket. Finding her phone, Rukia waits until Aizen is out of the room. Looking down at the screen, she notices several messages and missed calls from Ichigo. Slowly typing out each word, Rukia sends Ichigo a message._  
_

Standing in front of the door, Ichigo waits for Rukia to open the door. Ichigo paces back and forth down the hallway, glaring holes through the door. Ichigo has attempted to call her seven times and send her four text messages. He isn't too sure why, but he just stays out in the hallway waiting. Many adults pass by him giving strange looks, but Ichigo just glares at them back. Sitting right in front of her door, Ichigo just gets more frustrated as the time passes by slowly. Pounding on the door as hard as possible, Ichigo steams out his anger onto the door. "Open up midget! Let me in!" Kicking the door once, Ichigo groans and walks back into his apartment. Seeing his phone light up, Ichigo looks at it with shock as he reads the name on the screen. Seeing Rukia's name pop up, Ichigo opens the message with much anticipation. As Ichigo read the message from Rukia, the phone slowly slid out of his hands. Running frantically through his house, Ichigo grabs a few items before he rushes out of the house.

Crashing through the doors, Ichigo makes a big commotion as he runs into Uryu Ishida's house. Looking everywhere through the house, Ichigo hunts down for his friend. "Ishida, get your ass over here! It's an emergency!" Walking down the stairs quietly, Ishida observes his friend's anxious state. Ichigo feels slightly worried as he sees all his sewing supplies being tossed around recklessly. "Kurosaki, I advise you to stop throwing stuff and tell me what is going on." Whipping around to face the young man, Ichigo rushes over and grabs Ishida. Hauling him out the door, Ichigo flies through the city with a confused Ishida. "Rukia. Gone. Must find her now. Don't ask questions." Ichigo focuses as he looks everywhere for the missing girl. Glancing through each window as he runs, Ichigo can't find the one girl he is looking for. Ishida has a hard time as he attempts to keep up with Ichigo. Ishida kept hitting random strangers that are in front of him. Ishida feels exhaustion course through his body as he slows down his pace. Ichigo gets farther ahead as Ishida falls back. Deciding to take a different route, Ishida turns down a random alleyway.

Staying close to the wall, Ishida looks around to see any windows or openings. Hearing a door open, Ishida hides behind a dumpster and waits to hear for a signal of clearance. Running towards the door, Ishida catches the door before it closes. Sliding through, Ishida sneaks through the small building. Looking around the ceilings, Ishida finds no cameras at all. Walking through the room, Ishida searches for anything suspicious. As he keeps walking down, Ishida sees a small body sitting in the corner of the room. Taking a cautious steps, Ishida gets closer. Soon Ishida feels surprise impact his body as he notices who the body belongs to. Right in the corner of the room was Rukia in a curled ball. Ishida rushes over to her and checks her pulse. Feeling a normal pulse on her neck, Ishida takes his phone out to send Ichigo a message. Looking back at Rukia, Ishida begins to try and remove the shackles. "Don't worry Kuchiki-san, we will get out of here soon."

Ichigo angrily walks down the streets desperately trying to find Rukia or Ishida, but mainly Rukia. Glancing through each window and door, Ichigo only sees strangers and nothing else. Seeing a short girl with black hair, Ichigo runs up and grabs her shoulder. "There you are Rukia where the hell ha-.." Seeing the person turn around, Ichigo realises that this was not Rukia. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Grumbling a few words, the stranger shoves Ichigo's hand off and walks away. Sitting on a bench, Ichigo takes a few moments to reorganize his thoughts. Feeling his phone vibrate a couple times, Ichigo pulls out his phone and growls seeing Ishida's name on the screen. Flipping the phone open, Ichigo reads the message several times. His eyes begin to widen as he runs down the street as fast as he can. '_Hold on midget, I'm coming to get you.'_

Staring at Ishida, Rukia watches him as he attempts to take off the shackles. Feeling the shackles loosen on her wrists and ankles, Rukia looks at him in surprise. "How, how did you get these off?" Smiling down softly at the small girl, Ishida helps her up. "Don't worry Kuchiki-san, Ichigo will be here soon and we will get you home. Now let me help you." Following Ishida's instructions, Rukia slowly gets up and begins to limp towards the door. Reaching for the handle, Rukia is met with a tall man standing right in front of them. Trying to back up, Rukia's wrist is snatched by the man and gets dragged away from Ishida. Ishida pulls out a small knife out of his pocket and runs towards the man. Hitting his pressure point on the arm, the stranger releases Rukia and holds his bleeding arm. "Run! Ichigo should be close by."

Trying as hard as she could, Rukia begins to pick up her pace as she attempts to escape. Turning around the corner, Rukia can see the door. As she arrives to the door, Rukia turns around in time to be shoved against the door. Looking up at the attacker, Rukia notices the snake-like features that appear on his face. Fear forms in her mind as she feels constricted against this tall man. "Where are you going? You know Aizen will not like this one bit." Leaning forward, the mysterious man licks Rukia's cheek. Goosebumps form on her skin as she feels his tongue slide over her cheek. "Don't worry Rukia-chan, I'm here to take you to Aizen. Just remember, Gin is the name." Grabbing her arms and trapping them above her head, Gin begins to graze his tongue around her neck. After a few moments of violation, Gin throws Rukia against the wall. Picking her back up, Gin drops her down once again. Hearing a few cracking sounds coming from her body, Gin's grin grows across his face. "Oh dear, sounds like you are in some pain. I think I could fix that with a bullet." Pulling a silver gun out, Gin points it down towards Rukia. Cocking the gun, Gin begins to pull the trigger to end the girl's life. 'BANG, BANG, BANG' As the shots were fired, Rukia closed her eyes. When the sound ceased, Rukia did not feel pain at all in her body. Opening one eye open, Rukia looks down to see no blood on her. Looking back to Gin, Rukia gasps in shock.

Standing above an unconscious Gin, Rukia sees Ichigo there with a small black gun. Stepping over the body, Ichigo walks over to Rukia and kneels down in front of her. Grabbing her body, Ichigo smashes her into his chest. Tightening his grip, Ichigo nuzzles his face into her neck. "Rukia, please talk to me. I know what you saw was really bad, but please let me explain." Pushing his arms off, Rukia struggles to move away from the teen. Scooting away from Ichigo, Rukia looks at Ichigo with fear swimming in her mind. "Pl-please don't hurt me. Ichigo please, don't do anything." Putting the gun to the side, Ichigo holds his hands out to Rukia. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you Ru. I pro-.." 'BANG, BANG.' Blood splatters onto Rukia as the bullets fly into a body. Rukia tries to hold back the scream forming in her throat, but fails as the body falls on top of her. "ICHIGO!"

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Oh god. I'm sorry this took so long. But overall, I do like this chapter. Time for the drama to happen :) don't worry I'm not that evil.. Just leave you with a cliffhanger, but I have a feeling you guys will know what will happen. Thank you all for being amazing. Read and review of course! You guys are the best. Cheers c:


	10. Chapter 10

Hi everyone :) It's time for the next chapter! I know you guys didn't like the cliffhanger I left.. But to be honest, I didn't think I could leave it at that.. Now it's time to continue with the show c:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Tite Kubo like Bleach.. But I do own a wonderful boyfriend who takes me to amazing concerts c:

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Chapter 10

Shock floods the mind of a person as one witnesses a trauma. Being a first person witness to a shooting shocked Rukia as if she was the one who got shot. Feeling the pain grow in her heart, Rukia struggles to keep her pulse down. Swallowing the invisible lump in her throat, Rukia finally takes in the situation in front of her. Trembling like a leaf, Rukia searches for Ichigo's cellphone in his jacket. Picking up speed to find the small advice, Rukia finds it and dials the emergency line. Looking around the room as the phone rings several times, Rukia sees mainly blood and bodies laying around the cold white floor. Rukia feels hope as she hears a voice over the phone. "Help please! I'm here in a small alley on 372 Yama-yamanoha street. Hurry, I have a man with me here who need immediate attention. He has been shot twice. Please come soon." Dropping the phone onto the ground, Rukia begins to panic more as she feels blood seep through her clothes from Ichigo's body. Putting slight pressure on his chest, Rukia counts down the time as she waits for help to arrive.

Hearing the door bust open loudly, Rukia fears that it is not the ambulance or police. Closing her eyes in fear, Rukia waits for the worst to come as the foot steps become louder. Soon Rukia hears medical terms and other words flying out of several people's mouths. The words sound jumbled to her, but she knows it is help. Looking up at the medics, Rukia is lost for words as she watches them pick up the unconscious body of Ichigo and lay him onto the gurney. "We have two bullet entry points on the right upper quadrant of the body! We need oxygen in this boy stat." Rukia looks back and forth between Ichigo and the medics as they prepare him for the hospital. Once they got the boy in the service vehicle, Rukia is brought back to reality as she feels a pair of arms lift her up from the ground. Moving her head up to the source of the strong arms, Rukia sees a older medic taking her into the ambulance. "Don't worry sweetie, we have everything under control. Your two friends will be safe." Shaking her head slowly, Rukia just closes her eyes. "We have lost consci..-" Not hearing what the medic said, Rukia falls into a slumber state in the vehicle.

(Karakura General Hospital, 5:42 A.M.)

Busting through the doors, three teens go running towards the reception desk. Sliding to an abrupt stop, the two males trip over each other and fall to the ground. Leaping over the two guys, an athletic female teen stops in front of the desk demanding answers. "Where are they?! Tell me they are okay!" Staring dangerously towards the nurse, Tatsuki can feel the fear on the nurse as she begins to look up files on the computer. "W-what are their names, miss? We just had three patients admitted in the emergency room, but th..-" Slamming her hands onto the desk, Tatsuki musters the most angry voice that could easily level with a demon. "Where. Are. They? You will tell me now and tell me everything you know." The nurse shakes her hand slowly as she points towards a hallway. "R-r-room 423 miss." Dashing down the hall, Tatsuki and the boys run towards their troubled friends.

Staring at the ceiling, all Rukia could see is white. White walls, white chairs, white bed, everything is white. Even though everything is white, Rukia can't bring herself to look at the orange blob in the middle of the white bed. Seeing the orange hair look dull was just the start of her heart feeling broken. Once the abulance arrived to the emergency area of the hospital, Rukia just watched all the nurses and doctors work frantically as they prepared the teen's body for surgery. All that Rukia could remember was watching the pale body of Ichigo being wheeled into the operating room. Rukia tried to stay as close as possible to be ready for any news on Ichigo. Her patient weared down thin as she watched nurses run in and out of the room throughout the night. Finally she got news of Ichigo recovering and is able to be seen. Rukia rushed to see Ichigo but was thrown into shock as she looked at his still body.

Pale as he could be, Rukia believed she was looking at a dead body. The only reassuring thing was that Ichigo was hooked up to many machines saying he was still alive. The brightness of his hair seemed to be gone as he was laying on the big white bed. Rukia could see light bruises all over his body from struggling early that night against all the men in the building that she was trapped in. _'This is all my fault, I let you down Ichigo. You are hurt because of me. What kind of monster am I?'_

After reliving the memory, Rukia finally looks back up and stares right at Ichigo. Shifting into a comfortable position in her seat, Rukia moves her hand over to Ichigo's cold hand. Grasping the hand lightly, Rukia anticipates for any sign of life from his cold hands. Sighing in disappointment, Rukia closes her eyes for a few moments to rest a little. Only closing her eyes for two minutes, Rukia feels her eyes widen painfully as she hears the door fly open at alarming speed. Whipping her head to the door, Rukia is surprised to see people from school that she knows well. First to come into view was Tatsuki, then Renji and Ishida. Standing up from her chair, Rukia runs towards the trio and pulls Tatsuki first into a bone crushing hug. "It's all my fa-fault! I'm so-sorry that I made this all happen. Please, please forgive me.." Pulling Rukia close into her arms, Tatsuki attempts to calm Rukia down. Turning her head, Tatsuki signals the guys to keep distance for right now. Rubbing her back tenderly, Tatsuki can feel the hot tears soak her shirt. "Shh.. Don't worry Kuchiki-san, Ichigo was trying to save you. He will forgive you."

Trying to pull Tatsuki closer, Rukia can feel the panic still in her body. All she can hear is her heartbeat pounding deeply in her chest. Her throat begins to constrict tightly as she tries to breathe oxygen. Not thinking about her surroundings, Rukia does not notice the two bodies coming behind her. Feeling arms wrap around behind her, Rukia releases Tatsuki and flings her arms behind her. Connecting with two bodies behind her, Rukia can hear grunts coming from the victims. "Rukia what's wrong?" Turning around, Rukia notices now that she accidently attacked Renji and Ishida. Feeling her emotions come back stronger, Rukia begins to cry once again. "Renji, Ishida! What the fuck is wrong with you making Rukia cry again?! Ichigo is going to kill you guys if he hears about this." Tatsuki begins to roll her sleeves up as she walks towards the two guys. Seeing Tatsuki's actions made Renji and Ishida run to a corner and sit in fear. Giving the guys a few punches, Tatsuki turns back to take care of the distressed Rukia.

Seven long hours have passed by in the hospital. Seven long hours that Rukia has sat next to Ichigo. Seven hours since Rukia was accompanied with Tatsuki, Renji, and Ishida. Several nurses and doctors came by periodically to check up on Ichigo, but nothing happened much in the hours that passed. Shifting around once again in the comfortable chairs, Rukia rubbed out the kinks around her body. Pulling the blanket up from her lap, Rukia prepared for another nap on the uncomfortable hospital chair they gave her. It was slightly bigger for her to sit in, but it still wasn't enough room for her to comfortably sleep in. Looking over to the bed one last time, Rukia keeps her eyes lingering on Ichigo before she closed her eyes to sleep. The moment her eyes closed, Rukia began to hear monitors beating faster than normal. Springing up out of her chair, Rukia runs to the side to call a nurse. Looking down at Ichigo, she begins to notice small movements coming from his body. "Ichigo! Ichigo, it will be okay. H-hold on a nurse is coming right now. Everything will be fine."

Nurses come running into the room and check all the machines. Looking them over, she pulls out the communicator and begins spilling out words that Rukia could not understand at all. Soon the doctor comes rushing into the room. He pulls the sheets off Ichigo's body and begins examination. After what seems like hours to Rukia, she notices the doctor smiling. Still not catching a word or anything the doctor is doing, she looks curiously as to why the doctor is blocking all of Ichigo's body on the bed. Moving from the corner of the room, Rukia feels like the world just fell off her shoulders. She soon finds a color that she thought she wouldn't see in a long time. Bright amber eyes stare at her violet orbs. Feeling the warmth of his eyes, Rukia feels like she is under a spell. Stumbling closer to the bed, Rukia is at a lost of words when she is right next to Ichigo. Extending her arm slowly, Rukia's hand reaches out to feel a warm hand wrapped around hers. Smiling softly, Rukia lets all her fears go. Tears slowly roll down her cheeks as she stares at Ichigo for a long time. "You're finally awake, Ichigo. You are still alive, thank god." Hiding his pain with a smile, Ichigo pulls Rukia closer to him. "I hope you didn't miss me too much Ru. I just couldn't leave you." Laughing at the nickname, Rukia calms down from her panic attack that occured. Gliding her hand down his face, Rukia soaks in the fact that Ichigo is still alive and awake.

Taking the chance for comfort, Rukia slowly crawls up onto the side of the bed and lays down next to Ichigo. Snuggling her head in the crook of his neck, Rukia breathes in deeply capturing the deep aroma she knew was from Ichigo. Wrapping her arms around his right arm, Rukia tries to be gentle on Ichigo. Her heart flutters a few times when she feels Ichigo move closer to her and wrap his arm around her waist. "Ichigo, doesn't that hurt? You shouldn't be moving much." Smiling down towards her, Ichigo tightens his grip around her waist. "All your opinions and suggestions will be rejected. Let me enjoy this for once. I have been gone way too long."

Two days later, Ichigo was finally discharged from the hospital. It took longer than planned as Rukia attempted to drag Ichigo out of the hospital. All the younger female nurses tried everything to keep Ichigo in the hospital. Ichigo noted that he should hide in a corner when Rukia has a killing glare on her face. Let's just say, Ichigo felt more in danger at the hospital than the time he was saving Rukia from dying. With a bruised ear, Ichigo sits on the train next to Rukia. "You know, you didn't have to pull my ear to get me out of the hospital. I did just risk my life for you and then you hurt me even more. I'm hurt Rukia, oh I'm hurt." Rukia gives Ichigo an icy glare as he complains about little things. "Just shut up Ichigo, those girls deserved it." Ichigo smirks at Rukia and moves closer to her face. Resting his lips by her ear, Ichigo whispers slowly. "Do I hear a certain Rukia Kuchiki sounding like a jealous girl?" Feeling annoyance come up into her soul, Rukia brings her hand by his face and push him away. "I am not jealous! Just be quiet or else I'm sending you back to the hospital!" Ichigo begins to laugh at Rukia's outburst immediately. Ichigo wraps his arms around the small girl and pull her into his chest. "I missed you too Ru."

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That's it for chapter 10! Wow, I'm surprised I wrote this many chapters. hahaha, I hope you guys enjoyed it. I told you I wasn't a bad person. Please read and review. I would love it if you guys did. You are all amazing. Cheers c:


	11. Chapter 11

I like that you guys enjoy this story just as much as I do. :) So I have decided that chapter 10 was an end of the "arc" as Tite Kubo likes to say.. Ha ha ha, so why not follow his footsteps as much as possible? Okay well not story line following, just jumping to different main ideas? I'll just stop blabbering now..

Disclaimer: I will never own Bleach. Just an adorable orange kitten c:

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Chapter 11

As months pass by slowly, students like to count down to the most important day in school, graduation. After surviving four long years of high school, the group finally comes to the finish line. Standing around in cap and gowns, seniors of Karakura Elite stand around and wait for the ceremony to start. Standing in a tight group, Rukia and her friends talk to each other about future plans. Many of the teens will be attending the local college down the street. It still feels weird for most of them to leave the high school.

Just last year did Rukia meet this interesting group. 365 days ago did she meet Ichigo and the group of friends that she became so close to. Just one year ago did she leave her hellish home from her father. One year brought a lot of memories for Rukia, whether they were good or bad, she remembered it all. Just about everything involved her closest companion that she met first, Ichigo Kurosaki. The two have been through just about everything together. She would easily go through all of them once again for that fool. She isn't sure when she felt feelings for him, but she knew that they would eventually surface. Rukia had to admit painfully that Ichigo was quite the attractive man who she wouldn't mind seeing every day and night. She would guess these feelings came to her when Ichigo saved her life.

The two were close friends from the start, everyone could see it. They bicker at each other all the time, even when Ichigo was sent home from the hospital. The group began placing bets behind the backs of Ichigo and Rukia. The two never noticed the bets that went on. They didn't even notice the subtle comments given towards them. Ishida always felt bad for the two, but then again he didn't at the same time. He knew the two were dense, just not this dense in the head. Ishida has caught them several times acting quite close towards each other. Tatsuki has also noticed the same things like Ishida. She has seen the lingering touches and long glances toward each other. Tatsuki has even seen them cuddled together as they took a nap one afternoon on Ichigo's couch.

Seeing them together now on graduation, everyone was waiting for the two to finally become a couple. But at this rate, most of the group just wanted to trap them in a closed room and leave them in there for the rest of their lives. Hearing the bell ring, all the teens groan at the loud sound. Lining up in two rows, the seniors prepare for receiving their diplomas. Grabbing her hand, Ichigo stays next to Rukia in the line. Walking down the aisle, each teen receives their diploma from the principal. Families clap and cheer for their child and friends. Of course once Ichigo Kurosaki came up, the whole gym started to explode from Isshin Kurosaki. With bells, whistles, air horns, fireworks, and other loud stuff, Isshin desperately tried to get his son's attention. The reign of Isshin's troubles only lasted for a minute before security dragged him away. Ichigo ended up hitting his head against the wall after grabbing his diploma.

Once everyone got their diploma, they all gathered together for pictures and to plan for a party. Isshin soon came back in and began an attack on the group with many pictures. Rukia had no clue what was going on, except for the fact that she was being blinded by a camera flash many times. Karin saved the two when she knocked Isshin down and grabbed the camera. "Okay, you guys leave before this old man wakes up. Be safe Rukia and Ichigo. See you later at home." waving at Karin and Yuzu, the two leave with their friends to go to the senior party being held. The two walk behind the group towards senior class council president's house, Momo Hinamori. As each teen walked through the door, loud music was being blasted and many teens had cups in their hands.

Even though Rukia has seen many parties like this in movies and heard about from school, she still felt uneasy about this party. Rukia stayed close to the girls as she watched all the guys walk off in a group. The group of girls all walked into the kitchen to grab drinks. Rukia watched them confused as she saw them all grab little shot glasses. She was even more surprised to see Orihime Inoue grab one and down it in two seconds. "Kuchiki-san, are you going to take a drink to celebrate?" Tatsuki hands her a small glass and nudges her to drink it. Rukia looks at the glass for a few seconds and contemplates. Looking around the circle, Rukia made up her mind by closing her eyes and downing the drink. The alcohol quickly burned her throat and made her cough several times. Rukia wasn't too sure about the alcohol, but once time passed by, she grabbed another.

On the other side of the house, the boys were all standing by the keg getting some beer. Each guy has gone through about two cups of beer and were feeling great. Renji and Shuhei were singing along loudly with the current song playing. Keigo was being a fool as always trying to hit on a couple girls and failing as always. Ishida and Ichigo were more calm while drinking. The two guys were scanning the room looking for the two girls they came with. Ichigo felt uncomfortable with the idea of Rukia being at the party. Not that she was uncapable of taking care of her own, it was the fact that there were many perverted teens here at the party. Ichigo knew how the guys act while drowning themselves with alcohol. He knew how the guys thought it was okay to hit on any girl in the room. Ichigo knew that all the guys would be going for Rukia. Ichigo spotted Rukia a couple times talking to girls and this one, disgusting human being.

Standing next to Rukia was high school senior, Ashido Kano. Ichigo could already feel anger rise in his body. He never really liked Ashido, and he sure as hell did not like Ashido being by Rukia. All students know the history of Ashido with girls. Date them for two weeks and leave, that was his game. Ichigo soon felt himself explode when he saw Ashido pull Rukia onto the dance floor. Jumping up onto his feet, Ichigo begins to hunt down the two until he is stopped by a girl. Riruka Dukogamine, Senior Class Secretary, stepped right in front of Ichigo's stampede. "Hello there, Ichigo. You sure seem to change a lot since the beginning of school. You looked quite handsome today in that graduation outfit." looking down at Riruka, Ichigo just gives her a questioning look. "Sorry, but do I know you?" Riruka laughs at Ichigo's question and lays a kiss on his cheek. "You are hilarious Ichigo! I'm in the same grade as you. My name is Riruka Dukogamine, you must of heard my name before." Stepping away from the girl, Ichigo just shakes his head and attempts to get away. "I have no clue who you are, now if you excuse me. I need to find someone right now." Walking away from Riruka, Ichigo misses the evil glint in her eyes.

"Hello there Ms. Kuchiki, a pleasure to meet you." Rukia turns around to face a young man that she has never seen before. Based on looks though, she can guess that he is about the same age as herself. Rukia looks down to see a hand out for her to grab. Grabbing the stranger's hand, she is shocked to see him put his lips across her knuckles. "My name is Ashido Kano, I went to the same school as you. Must I say, you are quite a pretty girl at this party. Care to join me for a song?" Slightly blushing Ashido's boldness, Rukia nods her head in politeness. Rukia is soon pulled out onto the dancefloor. Unfortunately, she has no idea how to dance at all. Looking down several times, Rukia catches herself stepping on Ashido's feet several times throughout the song. "I'm sorry Kano-san, I have never danced before." Laughing at her apology, Ashido pats Rukia on top of the head. "Don't worry, my feet are not important at all."

Rukia blushes at his comment and is about to reply, but she does not see him. Five feet in front of her is Ichigo on top of Ashido, in a very aggressive way. Running over to the two fighting on the ground, Rukia pulls Ichigo off of Ashido. "What are you doing Ichigo?!" Ichigo glares down at Rukia and walks away. Everyone at the party just stares at the commotion and makes no movement. Looking awkwardly around, Rukia takes off in the same direction as Ichigo and leaves everyone to help Ashido. Cursing to herself about the cold and blaming Ichigo for leaving, Rukia stomps down the street to find the tall teen. Turning down the main street, Rukia spots Ichigo sitting in the curb. Sitting next to him, Rukia turns and slaps him on the back of the head.

Ichigo doesn't speak from her action, instead he grabs her arm. Linking his fingers between her own fingers, Ichigo holds her hand close to his face. Rukia at first is startled by his action, but doesn't tug her hand away. "Ichigo what's wrong?" Replying back softly, Ichigo keeps his head down. "Nothing Ru.. Nothing at all." Rukia is still confused by his actions, but she doesn't move at all. Ichigo stands up after ten minutes and pulls Rukia with him. "Let's go home." Ichigo stayed straight to the point as he pulled Rukia with him. "Hold on Ichigo. I can tell something is up, tell me." Ichigo stops walking when Rukia begins to talk.

Maybe it was the alcohol, Ichigo wasn't sure but he felt anger just boil over. Turning around, Ichigo angrily matches up to Rukia and talks to her in a menacing voice. "Just leave the subject alone Rukia. Nothing is wrong, end of story. Now let's go home." Rukia did not feel satisfied with the answer and ran in front of Ichigo. Ichigo felt more irritated from Rukia's consistent stops. Ichigo attempted several times to dodge all of her maneuvers, but it was not enough. "Will you stop for once?! You are being fucking annoying! Just leave me alone Rukia!" Rukia stares up at Ichigo with her mouth open. At a lost of words, Rukia backs up and runs away from Ichigo.

Once Rukia left, Ichigo continued to walk around the town. Every time Ichigo passed something, it reminded him of Rukia and that got him more upset. Punching random walls, Ichigo became more pissed and injured. Blood flowed out through his knuckles and ran down his arm. Feeling his warm blood come out of the wounds on his knuckles, Ichigo begins the journey home so he could patch up his hand. It doesn't take long before Ichigo reaches home. Glancing at the door next to him, Ichigo just waits to see if the door will open. As the door stayed closed, Ichigo gave up for the night and went to sleep.

Sitting behind the bathroom door, Rukia sits naked on the linoleum floor. Coming out from the shower, Rukia just let the towel fall off her smooth body. Sitting on the floor, Rukia ignore the numbing in her butt. Swirling a metal object in her hand, Rukia spins it a couple time before pulling it up to her wrist. Feeling tears run down her cheeks, Rukia pulls the razor across her wrist with slight pressure. Soon she can feel the blood seep out from the entry part of the cuts. '_Good job Rukia. First time you make a friend, you ruin it. Just like how you ruin everything, even your own wrists.'_ Letting her frustrations out by hitting her head against the door a couple times, Rukia slowly crawls over to the medical kit. Pulling out some gauze, Rukia wraps up her wrist and puts ice on the cuts she inflicted. Stepping out of the bathroom, Rukia walks down to her bedroom. Opening the drawer on her nightstand, Rukia places the small razor in the back of the drawer. In five minutes, Rukia falls into a dreamless sleep with marked wrists and a cracked heart.

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that's the end of chapter eleven. Yay yay yay. So Ichigo and Rukia got into a fight? This calls for juicy drama to happen. Well you guys are all awesome, so go review! Cheers c:


	12. Chapter 12

It's usually surprising when I start writing the new chapter right after I post the most recent one. I feel like a cool cat. I hope you guys like this chapter and this story c: I'm always having fun writing this story. So come on people, read read read c:

Disclaimer: I will never own Bleach. I just have a cute boyfriend who is crippled in the hospital, but is doing way better. c:

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Chapter 12

Seven days and counting, but is anyone really counting the days off the calendar? Ichigo just stares out the window watching the streets filled with many pedestrians. It seems like a routine now for Ichigo to literally sulk on the couch for two hours. After two hours on the couch, Ichigo moves to take a cold shower to ease his pain. Once out of the shower, he returns to sit back on the couch and look out through the window. Ichigo didn't know what to do, besides sit and do nothing. He has ignored every phone call, text, and anyone at the door. He knew that most of friends were probably mad that he was not responding, but he really did not care at all. Pulling the curtains over the window, Ichigo slowly adjusts to the darkness of the apartment. Pulling open the bottom drawer of the coffee table, Ichigo pulls out a single cigarette from the cartridge. Lighting it up, Ichigo takes a deep breath and exhaled some smoke. Soon the apartment became somewhat foggy with the smoke that came from the small cigarette.

Once the apartment clears up, Ichigo finds himself back in his room laying on his bed. Sighing in frustration, Ichigo picked up a random book on the ground. Looking at the cover, Ichigo gasps as he realizes what the book is. The collection of Edgar Allen Poe's works that he borrowed from Rukia. Opening the front cover, he sees a small letter written on a post-it note.  
_'To Ichigo: I hope you enjoy the book. I read this several times and I'm sure you can get this done in no time. Don't take too long Strawberry, I might miss this book too much.'_  
Ichigo throws the book on the ground after reading the note over and over. He could never think of returning the book as of right now. Hell, he didn't know if he would see Rukia any time soon. Closing his eyes slowly, Ichigo falls into a light sleep to calm his nerves down. _'How can I fix this? Now would be a great time for your help Mom.'_ Turning off the lamp, Ichigo falls into another dreamless sleep.

Pulling a dark maroon sweatshirt over her head, Rukia dresses for another boring day. For the past few days, Rukia has done as much as she could to leave the house. She often invited Orihime or Tatsuki out for coffee. Luck has been on her side that the girls always wanted to join her in the morning for coffee. Yet every time they go, Rukia always has to stop herself from ordering extra stuff. She always had an urge to ask for a tall black coffee with no sugar in it. The boring drink she always got for Ichigo every other morning. Grabbing her coffee and leaving, Rukia heads out to the park to go read for awhile. Once settled down, Rukia looks through her bag and frowns. _'Where is my book? I know it's not home. But where could it be?' _ finding her Edgar Allen Poe book seemed an impossible challenge for the Kuchiki. "Fuck me!" Rukia soon realized the book was with the last person she wanted to see, Ichigo. Walking back to her apartment in a foul mood, Rukia passes by a familiar boy with orange hair. The two did not notice each other at all when they walked by.

Knocking on the front door, Ichigo waits for the door to be opened by Ishida. He is surprise though to see Orihime open the door. "Uh, hey Inoue. Is Ishida around?" Orihime gives Ichigo a small smile before opening the door wider. "Kurosaki-kun! Uryuu is in the other room, come in." Walking to the living room, Ichigo finds the man he is looking for sitting on the couch reading an old book that he could assume is about sewing. Taking a seat on the couch. Ichigo leans back and lets out a deep sigh. "What can I help you with Kurosaki?" Grabbing the stress ball on the coffee table, Ichgo takes out his anger on the small ball. "I can't stand Rukia. I know it's my fault, but still. She doesn't need to ignore me. Arrggh, I can't handle this bullshit." Ishida sets the book down and rests a hand on his face. With all his self-control, Ishida punches Ichigo on the side of the face.

"Get a hold of yourself Kurosaki. Have you even tried contacting her? We all know that you were closest to Kuchiki. Did you ever think that maybe you need to approach her softly and maybe she will open up again. You are often brash when you try to fix things." Leaning into the couch, Ichigo pouts and crosses his arm. He stares out straight ahead and thinks about the words that his friend told him. "You can't ignore me Kurosaki. I know you heard everything that I told you. Now go fix this or else you will have to deal with a crying Orihime and you know where that leads." Getting an image of a pissed off Tatsuki had Ichigo running out of the apartment in no time. Walking into the living room, Orihime looks around to see Ishida sitting on the couch sipping on his tea. "Uryuu is everything alright with Kurosaki-kun? Is he going to finally talk to Rukia?" Grabbing Orihime by the waist, Ishida pulls Orihime into a tight hug. "Yeah, I think I finally got through his thick skull."

Running off to his apartment made Ichigo feel exhausted. Being pent up in the apartment for a week made him feel out of shape. _'Maybe I'll start running again. I could get Rukia to join. If she will talk to me ever again.'_ Stepping into the elevator, Ichigo travels up to the third floor. Taking his time to get to her door, Ichigo feels all the nerves attack his mind. He can feel the sweat on his palms and the heat radiate even more in his body. Finally facing the door to her apartment, Ichigo takes a few moments of standing still. His heart beat soon accelerates fast in his chest as he holds his hand up against the door. Dropping and raising his hand several times, Ichigo gives up and returns to his own apartment.

Staying quiet next to the door, Rukia feels frozen in place. With her hand right above the door knob, Rukia shakes with surprise as she hears Ichigo walk away from her door. Turning back around from the door, Rukia runs towards the wall that is against Ichigo's apartment. Pushing her ear against the wall, Rukia can hear Ichigo stomp around his home and yell random stuff out. Removing herself from the wall, Rukia retreats back to her room. Keeping the lights off, Rukia walks over to her bed. Sitting on the edge, Rukia begins to remove her sweater and pants. Looking at her pale arms, she slowly rubs her hand across the thin lines that go across her arm. Feeling sadness from each line she passes, Rukia gets up and marches straight into the bathroom for a long, cold bath.

It was about ten minutes to midnight when Rukia finally moved out of the bathroom. She felt somewhat relieved as she walked down the hallway in sweats and a sweatshirt. Even though it's summer, it still got very cold in her home. Keeping the sweatshirt close to her face, Rukia could smell the faint scent Ichigo on it. This was her favorite sweatshirt she ever obtained. Even though it was too big, she could feel the softness and warmth that came from Ichigo. It was bittersweet that she felt happy in the sweatshirt, but sad at the situation she was in. It's been a week since the two made contact with each other, but it felt years in Rukia's standards. But she was not ready to face him, she wasn't ready to hear him. She was scared of what could happen. It came down the worst three days ago when she received several text messages. The majority were from Ichigo, but she never replied to any of them. One came from an unknown number and with it was a picture. A picture that included Ichigo and some random girl. In this picture, Ichigo had a surprise face and the girl had her arms wrapped all over him. What got Rukia the most was seeing the random girl kissing Ichigo on the cheek. Rukia knew it probably wasn't anything, but it still hurt her badly.

Shaking the image out of her mind, Rukia grabs her comfy slippers that she wears outside and exits her home. Pulling the hood up over her head, Rukia walks down the street into the dark night. Taking random turns in the street, Rukia ends up at the small park on the outskirts of the area. Sitting on the swing, Rukia gently moves back and forth. "Hisana, I need you. I miss you so much. I wish you could help me here." Tears slowly fall down Rukia's cheek as she thinks of her deceased sister. She has always been close to Hisana, but she wished they bonded over a different situation. One that was less painful and traumatic for sure. Jumping off the swing, Rukia walks up the small hill to look out at the city. She soon remembers why the hill felt so familiar to herself. Looking behind her, Rukia is soon met with a tall tree that she has first seen a year ago. _'The one time I need to get away from him, I come to a place where he took me. Great, just great.'_

Tears start to fall once again down Rukia's cheeks as she recalls the memories she had with Ichigo in this location. Forcing herself back up, Rukia begins to run back home. Skipping steps as she ran up the stairs, Rukia is about to run into her home until a big obstacle is in her way. Slumped against her door was a sleeping Ichigo. Guilt filled her gut up as she studied his tired face. Sitting next to him, Rukia takes instinct of a good friend and pull his head into her lap. Brushing his hair out of his face, Rukia looks at him and nothing else. Minutes pass by and Rukia does not move at all. Rukia begins to close her eyes as exhaustion takes over her body. Rukia fails to notice amber eyes appearing from the sleeping boy's face.

Ichigo is first surprised to feel a warm body under his head. Looking at Rukia, Ichigo just doesn't know what to do. Should he wake her up? Ichigo was lost and just didn't know anything at the moment. He sits up and pulls Rukia into his chest. Wrapping his arms around her slim waist, Ichigo carefully lowers his head onto her shoulder. Feeling tired and exhausted, Ichigo feels slight joy being able to hold Rukia. Even if she is asleep, Ichigo feels a little more at peace knowing she still cared. Breathing deeply, Ichigo inhales her sweet scent that he truly missed. He felt at home and safe with Rukia being with him. Picking up the small girl, Ichigo enters his dark apartment and retires to his room. Lifting the covers up, Ichigo gently places Rukia into his bed and gets in right beside her. For the first time in a week, Ichigo falls into slumber.

The morning sun rises and shines through the curtains. Soft music can be heard in the background coming from a small alarm clock. Ichigo can feel the sun across his face and turns around. He soon regrets moving around the bed when he notices someone missing from his bed. He immediately wants to shout when he feels that Rukia is missing from his reach. Yelling into his pillow, Ichigo stays in his bed angry for the rest of the morning. Pulling his phone out, Ichigo dials the one number he never wants to remember. Three rings later, Ichigo begins to speak into the phone. "Old man, I'm coming over to stay for awhile." Ichigo closes his phone before he could hear the cheering coming from the other side of the line. Sliding out of his bed, Ichigo prepares a bag for his trip back to the family house. Not knowing how long he will be there, Ichigo grabs just about all his clothes and exits through the front door within thirty minutes.

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I hope you guys liked this chapter. Being in the hospital sucks, so all I do is type away on this computer as the boyfriend complains being chained down to the bed.. hahaha Please read and review. You guys are awesome. :)  
Cheers c:


	13. Chapter 13

Thank you all for reading and reviewing. c: I hope you guys are liking the drama I'm bringing in this story. It makes me feel anxious to be honest.. But that makes me want to write faster! I also feel more relaxed finally being home, so the creative juice flows through my brain.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters. I just have a lovely boyfriend and orange kitten who loves to cuddle c:

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Chapter 13

Walking down a familiar raod, Ichigo feels nostalgic as he can remember his younger days like as if it was just yesterday that he was running down the street. Many kids run down the street chasing each other and throwing a football. Kicking a rock along the way, Ichigo slowly makes it over to his old home that he once resided in. Standing right in front of the door, Ichigo lets out a big sigh and knocks against the door. Bracing himself for the worst, Ichigo blocks a flying kick from his insane father. "Welcome home Ichigo!"

Throwing his dad as far as he could, Ichigo could already feel the tension in his body. Walking through the front door, Ichigo walks to the kitchen where he can hear his two little sisters. Walking up behind them as quietly as possible, Ichigo prepares to surprise them until he hears a bored tone coming from one of them. Karin turns around and looks at him with bored eyes. "Hey, Ichi-nee. You know, you are not as quiet as you think you are." Yuzu soon turns around and throws herself onto Ichigo. Smiling at his little sister's action. Ichigo pulls the two into a giant bear hug. "Hi Yuzu and Karin, how have you two been? Keeping dad in check?" Pushing out of the hug, Karin rolls her eyes as she explains about the troubles their dad gives them as always. "You know how the old man is. Crazy, strange, delusional, and in need of being in a mental hospital. He still rambles on all the time about you finding a girlfriend." Ichigo stares at Karin like she is the most annoying girl in the world.

After a long night of fighting, eating, and joking around, Ichigo finally retires for the night into his room. Turning on the lights in his room, Ichigo is somewhat surprised that his room still looked exactly the same. The bed still under the window and the desk next to the closet. Ichigo isn't sure, but he believes that the bed still had the same sheets on. Pulling the covers back, Ichigo sits on his comfortable bed that he missed a lot. Next to his bed on the nightstand, Ichigo finds the old pictures that he never moved. The first one is a picture of him and his friends at a concert. The other one is the most memorable, the picture is of his family at the park. In the picture, everyone was smiling brightly, especially Ichigo. Ichigo lifts the picture up off the table and stares at it. He can feel all the memories run through his mind as an old movie. Remembering every detail, Ichigo felt a stream of emotions go through. Letting a small smile form on his face, Ichigo sets the picture down and falls into a deep rest.

_Running through the rain, Ichigo turns down a random street. Looking back over his shoulder, all he sees is pure darkness and nothing else. Turning back to look forward, Ichigo stops before crashing into a tall man. Ichigo falls down to the ground and lands painfully on his bottom. Amber eyes meet dull brown eyes. Ichigo feels cold as his face pales white like a ghost. "Shu-Shukuro Tsukishima? I thought you were, no you can't be real?" Laughing at Ichigo's scared state, Shukuro pulls Ichigo up by the collar. "Listen to me fool, you know exactly why I'm here. You think you could leave the life of evil? Well, you are wrong. You still owe me two million yen after I saved your ass from that drug deal. You understand?" Pulling a gun to Ichigo's forehead, two gunshots could be heard. Dropping Ichigo onto the ground, Shukuro disappears into the darkness as Ichigo stays on the ground._

Waking up abruptly from the dream, Ichigo feels sweat roll down his face as he breathes deeply for air. Stepping out of his room and walking towards the bathroom, Ichigo tries to come up what was going on in that dream. He knew that back in the beginning of high school it was rough, but he never thought his problem would haunt him again. Turning the sink on to let the cold water run, Ichigo attempts to cool his face off with the water. He can still feel his heart beat racing at a fast pace and he can not slow it down. Opening the medicine cabinet that is filled with many medications, Ichigo looks for one to help him fall asleep. Many times before when he had nightmares, Ichigo found out that if he took sleeping medication, he would fall back asleep with no problems for the rest of the night. Climbing back into his bed once more, Ichigo falls back asleep.

_Ichigo finds himself drenched from the rain. Walking along the river, Ichigo looks for some shelter. After walking for a few minutes, Ichigo finds a giant tree that could protect him from the rain. Running over to the tree, Ichigo settles down under the branches. While sitting under the tree, Ichigo begins to relax and lean against the tree. Ichigo is about to close his eyes until he feels the ground slightly move. Grass and dirt begin to move as if something was trying to push out. Ichigo leans closer towards the moving grass and is surprised when a hand pops out of the ground. Trying to back up, the hand catches Ichigo's ankle. Trying to pull his ankle back, Ichigo screams when he sees a full body still connected to the hand. Staring straight into the person's face, Ichigo feels like dying when he keeps looking at the violet eyes that have blood coming out from them. "Ichi-Ichigo, how could you? How could you let them get me? Ichigo they know, they know everything." Ichigo begins to scream as he looks at a bloodied Rukia. Kicking her away, Ichigo begins to run off._

_Ichigo stops once again as he faces Rukia and his family, who all look like they are bleeding to death. He sees his family grab a hold of each arm while Rukia stays in front of him. Ichigo feels two cold hands grasp his face as he struggles in his family's grip on him. "Look at what they did Ichigo. You couldn't stop me. They know everything you do, they know everything. Now it's time for you to die, my darling." Ichigo closes his eyes as Rukia stabs her hand through his chest grabbing his.._

Gasping for air, Ichigo touches his chest to find anything wrong on him. Once he feels everything in place on him, Ichigo looks at the time. 3:42 in the morning, and he is scared like a little child. Picking his phone up, Ichigo contemplates whether or not to send a message to someone. Throwing his phone back onto the nightstand, Ichigo decides against the idea. He knows that she is safe and doesn't need to hear from him. _'She doesn't even want to see me. I'm sure she is better off than me.'_ Laying back down into his bed, Ichigo stares out through the window and glances at the stars for the rest of the morning. Little did he know, someone else back towards home was having the same problem as himself.

Sitting at the island in her kitchen, Rukia stirs the honey in her tea. Looking at the clock on the stove, Rukia glared as the time slowly changed to 3:42. Sipping the tea slowly, Rukia could only feel annoyance as she gave in to the feeling of another sleepless night. After finishing half her tea, Rukia decided to go sit on the couch and watch some tv. Flipping through numerous channels, Rukia catches a show that is all too familiar with her. Watching the ninjas hop from tree to tree, Rukia rolled her eyes as she watched them be as quiet as possible. She never liked this show at all, but there was one person who actually watched this religiously. It was Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki. Turning the tv off, Rukia stomped back to her bedroom in a foul mood.

Everything around Rukia seemed to involve Ichigo. Even when she hasn't heard or talk to him in seven days, he somehow appeared in her mind. First the sweatshirt and now a television show. Rukia was torn between two actions, either forgive him or forget him. If she was listening to her heart, well Rukia wouldn't be alone right now. But she was scared that everything could fall apart. She didn't want to lose Ichigo ever again, not after almost losing him once. So why was this so hard to forgive him? _'It's because your jealous of that girl.'_ Rukia thinks to herself and instantly feels disgusted with that idea. Pulling herself back up onto her bed, Rukia brings her laptop up and turns the power on. Once the home screen appeared, Rukia smiled a little as she glanced at her background. It was of her and the group at graduation. Standing in the center was herself and Ichigo right next to her with his arm around her shoulders.

The group looked all cheerful and had the biggest grins upon their faces. Opening photoshop, Rukia began scanning through all of her photos. She finds another graduation photo with them making funny faces. Rukia laughs at how silly they were. Editing and deleting the majority of them, Rukia stops at the last one she took. Standing against the cherry blossom tree was Ichigo. In his hand was a cigarette that was on his lips. Rukia captured him the moment he put the cigarette between his lips and the smoke was floating up into the air. This was one of her best shots in her opinion, but she did really like how Ichigo looked in the cool autumn day.

Saving the picture onto her desktop, Rukia decides to surf the Internet for the rest of the morning. Several hours later, Rukia ended up buying a few things on random websites and applied to a few jobs. Once that was over, Rukia ended up passing out on top of her laptop. On the screen was a slideshow that flashed many picture of her, Ichigo, and both of them together.

Walking quietly through the house was quite the task for Karin and Yuzu as the sneak through their older brother's room. Even though they know it's rude to spy, they are curious as to why their brother seems to be lifeless around them this whole week. Step by step, they watch their brother sleep as they move to his desk. Looking around they find his phone. Karin notices that the phone is left open to a message. Reading the message over, Karin feels puzzled as to why the message was so sad. Her brother seemed to type out something very apologetic, which was unlike of Ichigo. Saving the message to the draft box, Karin and Yuzu read more of his messages to Ishida.

Yuzu and Karin have different feelings about their brother's situation. Yuzu feels sympathetic towards Ichigo while Karin feels mad about how much of an idiot he is. "How dumb can big brother be Yuzu? I knew he really liked Rukia from the start, stupid little fuc-.." Yuzu hits Karin's head softly to stop her from being loud. "Shhh! You are so loud. And don't be mean to Ichi-nii!" The girls freeze when they hear movement coming from the bed. Running out of the room, Yuzu and Karn hide before their brother could catch them. Little did they know, Ichigo was still dead asleep dreaming about the one girl he was moping over.

Stepping out if the small coffee shop, Rukia has a bright smile on her face. Carrying papers for employment, Rukia feels very accomplished to get a job at the coffee shop. She is glad it was the coffee shop she visits very often. Sh already knew everyone there and the owner also. Walking across the street, Rukia hums softly to herself. Climbing up the stairs, Rukia waves to one of her old neighbors, Yoko Mishima. Yoko has been an old film star who retired early to live with her husband. When her husband died, Yoko became a very closed person until she met Rukia. Rukia loved Miss Mishima dearly, the two drank tea together. Turning down the hall, Rukia is shocked to see Uryuu Ishida standing next to her door. "We need to talk Rukia Kuchiki."

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Hello everyone. I hope you all liked this chapter. I do love having Isshin being his crazy self. I hope this cliffhanger is not too bad.. Please read and review. You guys are awesome, cheers c:


	14. Chapter 14

Here is chapter fourteen. This story is going far, yeah? Please read and review. You guys are all awesome for taking your time and actually reading this story c: I really, really appreciate it.

Disclaimer- I do not own anything that is related to Bleach.. I do have a super comfy bed I like to lay in all day and watch movies while my boyfriend has to work everyday. Ha.

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Chapter 14

Standing in the hall facing Uryuu, Rukia could feel the awkward tension running through the two. Rukia had this strong feeling that she knew exactly what he was here for. Opening the door, Rukia decides to walk in. "Come on in, Ishida-san. I know this will be a long conversation." Hearing the foot steps coming from the hall into her house, Rukia prepares herself for this mental torture that will be coming from her friend's mouth.

Sitting across from each other at the table, Ishida and Rukia peacefully drink some tea. The two stay silent for about twenty minutes. Rukia keeps looking up and down trying to avoid the piercing glare she is receiving from Ishida. " So, uhm. Ishida how are you?" Not moving his gaze at Rukia, Ishida sighs and begins to start his long interrogating for the small girl. "How should I start this, Kuchiki-san? Oh I know how, you and the idiot need to start talking again. Do you know how miserable you two are making each other by not talking at all? Jesus, you even have Orihime worried. I can't let that happen Kuchiki-san." Rukia is shocked by how blunt Ishida was to her about the situation. She didn't even think that anyone noticed what was going on. "How do y-you know about this? There is nothing wrong going on between me and Ichigo. Nope, nothing at all."

"You know you are talking a complete lie right in front of me Kuchiki-san? I can tell that you two haven't been talking to each other. I know you two had a disagreement and you left Kurosaki right after. Now tell me Kuchiki, everything that happened that night and how you feel. I want you to trust me, I'm your friend. I'm here to help you two." Rukia feels speechless as she soaks in what Ishida has told her. She knew that Ishida could be considerate to everyone, well except Ichigo though. "I don't know what to say Ishida. There is too many thoughts swimming through my head." Weakly laughing at her small joke, Ishida lifts his tea cup up and drinks some more of the green tea. "Well, I know you will figure it out soon. But at least tell me one thing, do you see yourself being back in Kurosaki's life?" Looking out into the window, Rukia looks around outside to see if there is an answer. "I sure hope so, Ishida-san. I do hope so." Picking his stuff up, Ishida begins to walk towards the door. "Well if you want to mend this, come to Ichigo's surprise party we are having at Orihime's house. Be there at six." Staring at the door, Rukia contemplates about the information she has been given.

Three weeks soon pass by and July fifteenth comes along like a bullet. Standing in front of the mirror, Rukia examines her outfit. Pulling her skinny jeans up, Rukia secures the buttons tight and pulls her tank top down. Pulling some moccasins on, Rukia attempts to go for a more comfortable look. Grabbing a thin jacket and pulling her beanie down, Rukia begins the journey to Orihime's house. Once Rukia steps outside, she can feel the warm breeze flow past her as she walks down the street. Checking her phone for the time, Rukia groans as she realizes how late she will be. Rukia never enjoyed the fact that people arrived late to anything, and she was not an exception at all either. Even if she hasn't talked to Ichigo in weeks, she still didn't want to be rude and arrive late.

Knocking on the door, Rukia braced herself for an eventful night that she had no clue would end. Looking up to see Orihime, Rukia smiled and walked in. Setting down everything in the living room, Rukia followed Orihime out to the backyard where everyone else was relaxing. As the two stepped outside, they were all happily greeted from everyone. Rukia politely smiled and waved to the big group of friends. She didn't notice though the amber eyes staring her down from the other side of the patio. Rukia began to interact with several friends, but faintly in the back she could barely hear her name be whispered by someone she hasn't contacted in weeks

Staying on the couch as all the girls socialized, Ichigo kept his eyes on the main girl he has missed being with. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he sure missed Rukia. Ichigo didn't know if she was coming or not. Now that she is finally here, Ichigo can't move and go talk to her. "You know it would be best to go talk to her eventually. It would be wise to do it now when she is in the same area as you." Ignoring Ishida's comment, Ichigo leaves the couch and walks towards the group of people. He attempts to join in a conversation, but Ichigo has a hard time as he stares at Rukia. Deciding to take the chance, Ichigo tries to capture Rukia's attention. "Rukia."

Hearing her name through the crowd, Rukia looks to find Ichigo walking towards her. Stepping back, Rukia moves away from the crowd and can feel Ichigo's presence coming near. The two enter the kitchen and stand across from each other. Silence fills the area as the two avoid eye contact from each other. After what seems like hours, Ichigo finally moves his head over and looks at Rukia. Taking a couple steps closer to her, Ichigo gets onto his knees and wraps his arms around Rukia's waist. "I'm sorry." That is the only two words that come out between them. Rukia closes her eyes and wraps her arms around his neck.

Detaching herself from Ichigo, Rukia sits next to him in the ground. Letting the cold overtake her body, Rukia feels cooler on the ground. "I'm sorry too, Ichigo. I'm sorry to bring so much trouble for you." Laughing in disbelief, Ichigo turns his head towards Rukia. "Are you serious Rukia? You cause me hell. But if I have to do it again, I would. As long as I don't lose you again, we can stay good." Rukia could feel the weight fall off her shoulders as Ichigo assures her that he would never leave. Grabbing a drink from the fridge, Rukia pours two cups. "Drink up, it's your birthday."

After a couple drinks each for the teens, Rukia became very dizzy and didn't know what she was doing. She saw Ichigo on the floor looking up at the ceiling. Joining him on the ground, the two just stay on the ground looking at the ceiling. "You know what's funny Ru, how much we changed just from last year. Was it about a little over a year since we met?" Ichigo turns his head to look at Rukia. Taking the chance, Ichigo pulls her up close to him in a hug. "You know for the past few weeks, I fucking missed you. I wish you gave me a chance to explain everything. Nothing is going on between me and Riruka? I think that's her name."

Feeling the warmth of his body, Rukia felt like the temperature was rising in the kitchen. She did enjoy being close again, but Rukia thought she was going to start sweating. Pulling off her jacket as smooth as possible, Rukia soon felt ice cold when she felt long finger touch the cuts on her arms. "What is this?! Damn it Rukia, are you serious?" Putting her jacket back on, Rukia feels many emotions running around her mind and guilt is one of them. "Ichigo, just shut up. Don't bring it up now." Ichigo grabs her wrist and begins to walk to the front door. "I am bringing it up now Rukia. We are going home and you are going to explain everything." Pulling her wrist away, Rukia tries to escape the hard grip but can't. "It's your party Ichigo, you can't just leave!" Ichigo ignores Rukia as the two walks out of the house unnoticed.

Throwing Rukia onto the couch, Ichigo paces back and forth in front of her. The silence frustrates Ichigo as he walks around. Feeling too much anger in his body, Ichigo decides to punch the wall. "Why didn't you tell me?! Fuck, Rukia you should of came to me. Answer me, Rukia. Answer me!" Avoiding Ichigo, Rukia began to run towards the front door, but is soon stopped by the weight of Ichigo. Falling down to the floor, the two struggle against each other. Rukia kicks and punches Ichigo, but he doesn't move an inch. "Let me go! Just let me go, idiot! I am fine, okay?!" Ichigo holds down her arms onto the ground and moves his face close to hers. Ichigo speaks in a low, but menacing voice to Rukia. "Now I'm going to let you go, and you will speak. I want to hear everything and why you did this."

"What do you want exactly then? You know I was hurt when you snapped at me. I thought we were f-friends, Ichigo. It doesn't matter though anymore, you have that new girl. I'll just go home, have a nice night." Sighing deeply, Ichigo rests his head by her shoulder. Rukia could feel his steady breath on her neck. "Rukia, I already told you the truth. I don't know her and there is nothing going on. Please, just believe what I'm saying." Rukia doesn't know why, but she could feel her eyes begin to water. She doesn't want to cry, but the pressure of this problem seems heavy. Wiping away the tears before they fall down, Rukia tries to hide her stress from Ichigo. "Ichigo, I just felt alone and afraid. It sucked not seeing you, but it hurt to see you at the same time. We just need to start over, I think that would be best."

Looking at Rukia, Ichigo feels broken to hear what she is proposing. Ichigo doesn't want to lose Rukia, but he is glad that she hasn't given up. Ichigo decides to take the chance now before it's gone. Slowly leaning in, Ichigo begins to close his eyes and lay his lips on Rukia's cheek. Keeping his lips lingering on her skin, Ichigo gently kisses Rukia's cheek as a show of compassion and love for her. Picking himself and Rukia up, Ichigo just walks away and closes himself in the depths of his bedroom. Rukia stayed near the front door shocked. Keeping her hand by her cheek, Rukia didn't know whether to be excited or angry at what happened. How was she supposed to react to this? She never had to deal with something like this before. Walking out of his apartment, Rukia felt her mind go crazy for the rest of the night.

Looking into the mirror, Rukia places her hand right on top of her cheek. She can feel the electricity that came from the kiss linger on her cheek. She can feel the butterflies fly around in her stomach as she pictures it every single time. Then soon after she could feel the knives stabbing every part of her heart. She was stuck on believing whether or not Ichigo is telling the truth. She wants to believe him with all of her heart, but she knows that trusting people was never her thing. Pulling out a pen, Rukia begins to scribble words down along her arms. Writing lyrics down her arms, Rukia could feel the comfort of the strong songs that help her get along through the tough days. Once she was down, her arms were covered in numerous lyrics that touched her heart. Pulling a sweatshirt over, Rukia walks around the house finding a spot she could safely sit and not be bothered by the world. Resting her head against the thin wall, Rukia listens closely to the movements of her neighbor.

Walking across his kitchen, Ichigo begins to bring out ingredients from his fridge. Even though it wasn't too late into the evening, Ichigo felt his stomach growl at him for not eating. Leaving his own party early was a blessing in disguise. He got to avoid eating Orihime's food and talk to Rukia, even though it left him with a bare friendship with Rukia. But one thing he couldn't ever forget was the small kiss he gave to Rukia. He knew it was very risky, but he just had to take the chance. Softly smiling to himself, Ichigo begins to cook the rice and meat for some teryaki. Pulling to bowls out of his cabinet, Ichigo prepares the meal for him and one more person. Setting the extra bowl on a tray, Ichigo walks out into the hall and sets the tray down in front of Rukia's door. Putting the note he wrote down also, Ichigo knocks on the door and enters his own apartment before the door is opened. Looking right to left, Rukia is confused as to why there was a knock on her door. But soon she smells some delicious food right by her. Moving her eyes down towards her feet, Rukia smiles to see a note and food right there. Picking everything up, Rukia reads the note and smiles as she brings everything into her house for a peaceful dinner.

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Sooo instead of homework, I decided to give you guys a new chapter c: I hope you guys like it and review! It will be greatly appreciated. Have a great weekend, you guys are awesome. Cheers c:


	15. Chapter 15

I'm not quite sure how many of you guys read this, but if you do well thanks. :) I am quite happy how long this story has been, I feel like there is still so much more to write on this! There is still so much that I want to add, but it will take some time. I think you will all like it. Well I hope you guys like reading this, and as always please review c:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except a copy of the new Panic at the Disco album, which by the way is amazing!

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Chapter 15

Summer days passed and soon the vacation time came to an end. There was one week of summer vacation left before all of the teens had to go to college. It was the first year of college for the group. Ichigo and the whole group were going to the local community college. It was a mutual decision for the group to stay together. It wasn't until now that the group thought it would be fun to own a house together. Many times when this was brought up, the boys would fight each other. The girls didn't know why, but somehow the subject got the guys to get physical at each other. But that was not the only problem the group faced. The real problem was to get everyone to agree to the new living arrangement. Everyone agreed except two teens in the group.

Whenever the conversation topic would travel around, Rukia, Ichigo or both would seem to be missing from the area. When one of them were actually there, they would usually avoid answering the questions. Rukia usually just passed the question off and ask other questions. Ichigo though on the other hand, he would get annoyed and never give a good answer. The group was getting quite frustrated that nothing was being resolved. Finally after two weeks of dancing around, Ishida and Orihime were able to sit both Ichigo and Rukia down to explain the suggestion that the group were in favor of. "Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san! I'm glad we have both of you here. We need to see if you guys are willing to share a house together, with everyone. We just need your answers and we will be ready for the moving process! So how about it?" Ichigo and Rukia look over at each other and quickly glance away.

Ichigo could feel the heat creep up his face and he sure hopes it's not too obvious. Pulling on his collar, Ichigo clears his throat a couple times before answering. "U-uh. Well Inoue, I honestly don't mind at all. If Rukia wants to, then let's start." Orihime and Ishida quickly turn their attention to Rukia. "Rukia feels embarrassed with all of this attention and tries to not sound nervous. "Y-yeah, I guess it could work." Rukia is soon pulled into a tight squeeze from Orihime. "Oh yay, yay, yay! I'm glad you guys agree! I must go tell everyone." Orihime runs out of the room to call everyone about the wonderful news. Ishida turns around after watching his girlfriend run out of the room. Glaring at the two in front of him, Ishida leans forward and begins to speak to the two.

"Kurosaki and Kuchiki, listen to me. You two better not ruin it for my Orihime. If you two do, I will personally create hell for you two. Now why don't you two make up and become buddy buddy again. We will all appreciate it if you two act like those two love birds you were during school." Getting up from the seat, Ishida grabs the two coffees and follows his girlfriend out of the room. Ichigo and Rukia are left alone and it immediately becomes silence. Ichigo turns his head to the side to look at Rukia. He is slightly shocked to see violet eyes staring back at him. The two stay still for several minutes. Ichigo finally decides to break the silence as he gets up off of the chair. "So, I guess we are really doing this now?" Nodding her head in agreement, Rukia follows Ichigo's actions. The two walk out of the room and head over to their apartment complex.

Standing in front of the door, Rukia looks at her door and feels stumped why she isn't going in yet. Looking over to her side, Rukia notices that Ichigo is standing right in front of his door to. Feeling lost for words, Rukia is quite shocked to hear his voice ring through her ears. "So it's been awhile, right? It's been a long time since I've seen Rukia Kuchiki over. Do you want to come in?" Searching through his eyes, Rukia could see anticipation and slight fear in his amber eyes. Giving him a small smile, Rukia walks towards him and opens his front door. "Sure, I would like that Ichigo Kurosaki."

Hours pass by fast for the two as they sit on the couch. Watching several movies, the two have a relaxing day. Going through comedy, drama, action and horror movies, Rukia truly enjoyed the day. Moving around on the couch, Rukia rests her head on the shoulder of Ichigo. Sometime during a scary movie, Rukia felt scared as the monster appeared on the screen capturing the innocent girl. Ichigo didn't feel scared seeing the monster, he enjoyed seeing Rukia jump every few minutes when something got a little creepy in the movie. The two moved closer and closer as the movie kept rolling. Ichigo smirked when he finally felt Rukia grasp onto his arm. Pulling her close, Ichigo kept Rukia as close as possible.

Credits rolled down on the big tv screen, but the two didn't notice at all. Light snoozing could be heard coming from the male teen. As the two slept on the couch, it seemed like the world was at peace. Nothing was bothering them and no one was seperating the two. Even though many thought Ichigo and Rukia were over and not friends anymore, but they surprised people and came back again. Though at first they were hesitant about where they stood, but the wounds were mended and they were talking again. It was a strong bond the two created with each other. No matter what happened, the two always came back to each other. This was the big step they needed to be back at what they were.

Rubbing his eyes a few times, Ichigo adjusts to the darkness of his living room. Looking around, Ichigo could see all the pizza boxes and movies spread out. Looking down his body, Ichigo could see a small familiar body on top of him. Trying to move as little as possible, Ichigo reaches for the small remote to turn off the tv. Ichigo stays still on the couch a few more minutes before moving locations. Walking slowly towards his own room, Ichigo attempts to balance Rukia in his arms and open his door. Ichigo settles Rukia onto his bed and joins her. Moving her close to his body, Ichigo keeps Rukia close to him. Inhaling deeply the scent of cherry blossom shampoo, Ichigo could feel happiness swell up in his heart. The smell of flowers calms his soul and relaxes him even more. Soon Ichigo could feel slumber take over him once more.

It was about eight in the morning when Rukia decided to wake up. Stretching her body like a cat, Rukia feels very refreshed and full of energy. Rukia was glad to finally get a full night of sleep with no random moments of waking up. Strong arms could be felt around her waist and they tightened as she stretched once more. Her body felt the heat radiate from behind her. It felt like the sun on her back when she knew it was really a person. Looking behind her, Rukia could feel a smile spread on her face as she saw a sleeping Ichigo behind her. At first Rukia felt embarrassed finding herself in this position, but she slowly got used to finding her with Ichigo. They were not dating, but she believed that she didn't need a special label for the relationship she had with Ichigo. Maybe one day she could see them together, but for now she will let it go on it's own pace.

Reaching for her phone on the nightstand, Rukia checks the time. Seeing that it was time to leave for work, Rukia carefully moved Ichigo's arms off of her. Taking a pen and paper, Rukia writes a small note and leaves a little bunny picture for him. Stepping out of the house, Rukia leaves Ichigo to sleep for the rest of the morning. After two hours of sleeping, Ichigo finally begins to stir and move around in bed. Ichigo wasn't sure why, but he could smell cherry blossoms on his pillow. He believed that he was dreaming and kept the pillow up close to his face so he wouldn't lose the scent. Slowly opening his eyes, Ichigo could finally tell that he was not in a dream. He felt his heart drop to his stomach as he realizes that Rukia is not by his side. He knows that he shouldn't feel this sad, but he couldn't lie to himself. He always had a soft spot for Rukia and he favored her more than anyone else that he knew at school.

Moving the covers off his body, Ichigo trudges over to the bathroom. Looking at himself in the mirror, Ichigo is surprised to see a small sticky note hanging on the front of his shirt. Taking the note off and reading it, Ichigo could feel a smile form on his face. Brushing his teeth and putting some new clothes on, Ichigo begins his day on a good foot. Closing the door behind him, Ichigo soon bumped into a random person the moment he turned to leave. Falling to the floor, Ichigo scowls at the person beside him. "Care to move next time, dude?" Renji begins to rub his bottom as he stands up. "Calm down Ichigo, I was just about to knock on the door. Are you in a hurry right now? I need some help." Ichigo was confused at first until he realised what Renji could be asking. "You and Tatsuki having a hard time moving in together into the house already?" Renji just nods his head and explains the problem.

"Well you know about all of us moving into the house? Tatsuki is down to do this, but she wants me to get rid of my sword collection! Those are my babies, I had them since I was six. You know how long it took me to collect them all! Please Ichigo, I'm begging you. Help me convince Tatsuki that I need to keep my sword collection." Ichigo found Renji on his knees and began to laugh at the situation. Patting his shoulder and walking past him, Ichigo walks down the hall responding to Renji one last time. "Renji, you idiot. Just listen to Tatsuki and everything will be fine. I need to go meet someone, I'll talk to you later." Renji missed the excited look in Ichigo's eyes as he walked down the hallway. Renji decided to let himself into Ichigo's house and began to watch some movies. Pulling his phone out, Renji starts to call a couple of friends over for movies.

Putting a small black apron on, Rukia prepares for a long day at work. She enjoys being at the coffee shop. Senbonzakura was a decent size coffee shop that has been around for almost one hundred years. It was a traditional tea shop that also served coffee and other drinks. Rukia always came here for coffee or tea with friends. Stepping up to the tables, Rukia began to take orders from customers. Once circling around the tables, Rukia transitioned to start making the drinks. She had a natural talent making coffee, it surprised her manager. Lifting the tray up and taking it to customers, Rukia did not notice the guy watching her from the side. Moving back to the counter, Rukia sits down for a small break. "Ah, Miss Kuchiki. What a pleasure to see you here."

Looking to the right side of her, Rukia is shocked to see Ashido Kano standing right next to her. "Ashido. What a surprise to see you. Uhh, how are you?" Rukia feels somewhat nervous seeing Ashido. She isn't sure why she is slightly nervous, but she didn't feel very comfortable with him here. Rukia looks around the shop and sees no customers in view. Turning her attention back to Ashido, she is surprised to see him staring her. "I have been doing fine Rukia. I have a question for you though. Would you like to come hang out with me tonight and grab some dinner." Ashida grabs Rukia's hand and slowly rubs his thumb across the back of her hand.

Rukia could feel the blood rush up to her cheeks as Ashido keeps rubbing his thumb across her hand. "I-I am not sure Ashido. It doesn't seem like a b-bad idea." Ashido smiles brightly and pulls out a small piece of paper. "Great, here is my number. I'll text you and come pick you up." Rukia smiles weakly and turns towards the door when she hears a small bell come from the door. "Welcome to Senbon-.." Rukia couldn't form any more words as she faces the customer who just walked through the door. Staring at Ichigo, Rukia feels like she wants to hide in a hole. The emotions dancing through his eyes makes Rukia feel like the worst person in the world. Anger, sadness, and betrayal are filling the boy's eyes. When Rukia could feel the strength to move towards Ichigo, he was already out of the building in two seconds. Rukia could feel her world crashing down as her mind replays the image she just saw of Ichigo.

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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please read and review. Can't wait to hear what you all think. c: You guys are all awesome, thanks. Cheers c:


	16. Chapter 16

Hi people c: There is always so much I want to tell you guys, but words for this author's note is never too important. Except that you guys are amazing for reading this. I always appreciate it. :)

Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach at all. Nope, nada. I just own some food that I love to eat.

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Chapter 16

Sitting in front of her vanity, Rukia looks at her small reflection. Bringing some mascara up to her eyes, Rukia extends her lashes for a dramatic effect. Grabbing a small bottle of perfume, Rukia puts very little on. Smelling the cherry blossoms from the perfume relaxed Rukia a great deal. She wasn't sure why, but she felt quite hesitant for this ordeal. She never really wanted to go out with him, but she just couldn't say no. It was never in her book of morals to reject someone who was civil towards her. She still felt hesitant about going out tonight. When she saw the look on Ichigo's face, she knew it was wrong. This whole process felt wrong. She truly didn't want to get ready at all. She rather stay home and not see anyone. Well that would just be a plain lie that Rukia kept telling herself.

Dragging her feet towards the closet, she digs through her closet to find a basic dress. Passing by many shirts and skirts, Rukia struggles to find a cute dress that she could wear. After what seemed like hours in front of her closet, Rukia stops at a basic, black dress she recently bought. During a trip with Orihime and Tatsuki, Rukia had purchased that dress. It was a random purchase, but all the girls agreed on the black dress. Pulling it over her head, Rukia adjusts the tight dress on her small body. The midnight fabric tightly wrapped around her body. In the light, glitter could be seen as if it was a night sky. With long sleeves, Rukia felt that she would not get cold tonight.

Walking towards the door, Rukia slightly stumbles as she attempts to travel in red heels. '_Stupid heels, why do I even wear them? I don't feel any taller in these..'_ Rukia opens her phone and calls Ashido. "Good evening, Ashido. Yes, yes I'm leaving now. I just wanted to call just in case I run a little late. I'll see you then." Rukia closes her phone and the door easily as she works her way towards the exit. Keeping her focus on her stumbling feet, Rukia did not notice the tall boy grabbing her from the door. As Rukia took two more steps, she could feel her body lean to one side. Falling towards the ground, Rukia prepares herself for the carpeted ground. Closing her eyes and holding her breath, Rukia prepares for the impact but is surprised not to feel a hard floor.

Blinking her eyes a couple times, Rukia is quite surprised that she is not facing or feeling the ground. Focusing her vision forward, Rukia meets amber eyes that she did not expect. Feeling embarrassed by the situation, Rukia pulls herself up and out of his hold. Rukia isn't sure why she feels so nervous, but it bothers her to the bones that she can't look up and face Ichigo. "Thanks for catching me. I appreciate the save." Turning around, Rukia begins to waddle down the hallway. Once again, Rukia is stopped by another obstacle. Ichigo easily caught up with her in three steps and was in front of her again. "Come with me. We need to talk." Not waiting for an answer, Ichigo pulls Rukia into his apartment.

Sitting quietly on the couch, Rukia wasn't sure if she should run away now or just stay still. She weighted out her options and felt that she would fail in escaping the apartment. Shoving her dress down to cover some of her legs, she felt somewhat excited by this thrilling surprise. What was so surprising though, Rukia wasn't sure. Maybe it was the fact that she was taken from her date, or that Ichigo saved her from falling. Well the falling scene was a little off the charts and not thrilling, but she was grateful for him saving her. Looking over towards the kitchen, she sees Ichigo hunched over the counter chopping some fresh vegetables. Taking her heels off to save her some trouble, Rukia walks over into the kitchen and next to Ichigo. "So am I here to just watch you cook dinner? I have someone to meet up with right now." Putting the knife down quickly, Ichigo grabs Rukia's wrist and holds her in the kitchen. "Please don't leave. I'm being nice and asking you. You do not need to see him at all, end of story." Ichigo goes back to cutting vegetables while Rukia stands there glaring at him.

Rukia moves quickly out of the apartment and decides to go to her date. Pulling on her shoes, Rukia struggles slightly while walking down the stairs. As she steps out of the complex, Rukia could feel small drops fall down from the sky. Looking up at the sky, big clouds could be seen rolling through the town. The sky begins to darken fast as the clouds devour the area. _'When was it supposed to start raining? I need to walk faster now.'_ Picking up the pace, Rukia weaves through people down the sidewalks trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. The sky drops buckets of rain down on Karakura and Rukia could feel it soak through her clothes. Cars splash big puddles as they pass by and hit all the pedestrians with the dirty water. Rukia could feel the temperature drop in her body as another puddle splash her.

Finding refuge under a covered building, Rukia stands there as she watches the rain falls. Rubbing her hands across her arms, Rukia can feel the goosebumps along her skin. She feels quite stupid for getting caught in the rain. Rain never brought anything good, and Rukia took the chance to avoid it. Well now that she thought about it, she could blame Ichigo for getting her caught in the rain. _'How would the idiot know it was going to rain? Knowing him, he would of kept me in his house until he saw the sun out and no clouds.'_ Rukia was lost in thought to notice a warm jacket go over her shoulders. Feeling the sudden heat hit her body, Rukia is shocked to see a soaking Ichigo standing in front of her. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not good to be in the rain with no jacket?"

Once again, Rukia found herself back at Ichigo's apartment on his couch. Still damp from the rain, Rukia keeps herself wrapped in a couple blankets. After Ichigo found her in the rain, she walked back down the same street towards the apartment complex with Ichigo. There was no arguing between them as Ichigo gave her spare clothes and blankets to use. Flipping through channels on the television, Rukia is occupied with Chappy as she sees the cute bunny dance on the screen. Staring at the screen and back at Rukia, Ichigo is truly confused as to why she even likes this kid show so much. Taking a spot next to her, Ichigo pulls another blanket to put around them. Heat rises onto his cheeks as Rukia scoots closer to him, but he is surprised to see that she has not moved her attention from the television. Ichigo looks over at the television to see the small bunny dance around and soon change abruptly. On the screen was the news channel with important news.

"Attention Karakura Town, as of right now we are going through a terrible storm. Meteorologists are not sure where this big storm came from, but soon will find out. This breaks records for the town with rainfall in the summer. It is to be reported that the stor-.." Darkness invades the whole screen and room. Sitting in the dark, Ichigo and Rukia are surprised to see that the power went out. Standing up and walking towards the window, Ichigo sees darkness around Karakura. Not a single light illuminates the streets. Rain could be heard and seen through the window and it was louder than it was when the tv was on. Sighing at the scene, Ichigo stays standing by the window for a few more minutes. Rukia begins to feel curious as to why he stays standing. Getting up from the couch, Rukia pulls up the big sweatpants and walks over to the window. Being right next to Ichigo, Rukia looked up to his face. Following his eyes, Rukia looks down towards the street.**  
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In the pouring rain, two people could be seen standing in the street. The shorter girl spun in circles as the guy watched her on the side. The two were soaked to the bone, but they both didn't seem to care at all. Soon the guy ran towards the girl and picked her up into the air. Even with the storm warnings, the two were out there having fun. Anyone can see the love and appreciation the two had outside. Taking his eyes off the two down the street, Ichigo looks over at Rukia who was next to him. Smiling softly, Ichigo takes in all of her beauty. With her hair still wet and up out of her face, Ichigo though she still looked amazing. No make up and in comfortable clothes, Ichigo felt it impossible to think properly. Lifting his hand slowly, Ichigo began to move his fingers down her soft cheek. He was truly fascinated by her natural beauty, it was a sin for her to be this beautiful. Rukia turned her head when she felt the contact. Drawing her eyes up to his, the two hold eye contact. They could easily read each other and both of their eyes showed many emotions of what they felt. But neither could easily act upon them.

The peace and serenity that filled the room soon evaporated as a blaring noise from a cell phone went off in the living room. Moving their heads towards the noise, Rukia was surprised to see her phone lighting up. Running over towards the phone, Rukia eyes double in size from shock to see the caller id._ 'Oh god.. I forgot about Ashido! How could I be so foolish?'_ Reaching for her phone, Rukia finds another hand grab her phone. Following the hand, Rukia watches Ichigo answer the phone with a menacing tone. "Don't ever call again, she is not available. Don't you dare question what I'm saying. I am not important for you and you are not important to her. Don't fucking start with me." Closing the phone and slamming it down on the counter, Ichigo walks towards his room. Rukia stands out in the middle wondering what to do. She wanted to follow Ichigo, but she just couldn't move. Was she feeling anger or relief? Ichigo did technically relieve her from the date that she would have not enjoyed. Wrapping the blankets tighter around her body, Rukia decided to slowly drag herself towards Ichigo's room.

Knocking on the door softly, Rukia waited to hear him grant permission for her to come into the room. Watching the door open, Rukia begins to walk in the room. Hearing the door close, Rukia continues her journey to sit on his bed. Ichigo takes a seat right next to her and leans his back against the headboard. The silence becomes slightly awkward for the two as they stare out in front of them. Rukia begins to trace small patterns on the bed to distract herself from the silence. In the back of her mind, she could think of every possible idea that might come out from Ichigo. She knew he wanted to talk, and talking was what will happen. Maybe some yelling or uneccessary cruel words might be thrown, she just wasn't sure. Rukia tries to convince herself that everything will be fine, but she knows that this conversation wouldn't be civil. "Why did you agree to that date?" Turning her head to the right, Rukia looked at Ichigo's face. Seeing no emotion in his eyes, Rukia contemplates on how to answer his question. "I, I don't know Ichigo."

Confusion and anger is all Ichigo could feel as he stared back at Rukia with narrow eyes. Standing up from the bed, Ichigo begins to pace back and forth. "What do you mean? You shouldn't have even agreed to him! Are you serious Rukia?" Standing up to face Ichigo, Rukia looked up to him and shot him an icy glare. "I am serious. I know what I was doing Ichigo. I have a brain that I know how to use! You can't tell me who I should and shouldn't date. When did you think you got permission to tell me who to see and talk to? You better have an answer." Crossing her arms, Rukia waits to hear Ichigo and his answer.

"You really want to know? Rukia, I do not want you to be by Ashido Kano! I rather have you by Keigo than him. You never knew Ashido as much as I did. Do you know how manipulative he is towards girls? I didn't want you to be a victim to him! Guess who would of been there if you got hurt, me. I would of saved you Rukia, I would of protected you from him. I thought you knew how much I cared for you."

"Wait, are you pitying me? Ichigo, you know I have the capability of taking care of myself. I have for the past ten years! Why not a few more? You think you are all hero and just here to protect me. Did you ever think that maybe I just needed a real friend who would look at me like an equal? I have had it with you standing in front of me, just let me take the lead for once. Just let me protect you every once in awhile. Let me be my own person." Rukia begins the quick journey to the door as she can't handle the pressure anymore. Grabbing the handle and pulling the door open, Rukia is angered to see the door quickly close once again. Turning around to start yelling again, Rukia is shocked to see how close Ichigo's face is to hers. The two breathe heavily as they just stare at each other. Seeing the sadness in his eyes, Rukia could see the sincerity and hear the slight pleadig in his voice.

"Rukia.. Please, just stay. Listen to me, don't respond until I'm finish. I believe you are a strong person Rukia, don't ever forget that. I know you never had a memorable childhood, I understand. I want you to feel safe with me, I want you to be by me. Rukia, you don't know how much hatred I felt when I saw you two at the coffee shop. I guess you could say I was pretty jealous. I'm sorry for all of it. I just, I just want you to know how terrible I feel for ever hurting you. Please, all that I ask is for you to forgive me." Resting his hand against her cheek, Ichigo takes in the pleasure of her soft skin against his rough hand. Leaning his forehead against hers, Ichigo closes his eyes and speaks softly once again. "I just need you, Rukia. Just give me a chance with you, that's all I ask." Closing the gap, Ichigo places his lips against her.

Standing still for a few seconds, the two just hold the kiss at a stand still. The heat from the small kiss spreads throughout their bodies. The two finally join together through this kiss. Emotions are evident in their eyes as they pull back. Looking over her face, Ichigo could see pink tinge her cheeks. Bringing his lips above hers once more, Ichigo closes the gap after he hears her speak for once. "Yes."

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I hope you guys liked it. :) Please read and review. You guys are awesome and I appreciate all the reviews and messages. See you all next chapter. Cheers c:


	17. Chapter 17

I hope you guys all had a wonderful Halloween. I had a crazy night with scary monsters... Thank you all for following and reviewing this story. I hope you guys still read this story. It will be greatly appreciated. Cheers c:

Disclaimer- I do not own anything with Bleach. If I did, I would have made Ichigo and Rukia honeymoon like rabbits and be in complete love like a fairytale.. Thank goodness I can't.

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Chapter 17

Seconds turns into minutes, and minutes drag on to an hour. Time slows down as one thing passes amongst people. Time seems to freeze as one stares into another one's eyes. It has been heard that when two individuals who deeply care for each other kiss, fireworks explode and the two feel a special bond form. Strong emotions grow and the couple create memories that will last a life time. This moment became the first memory that Rukia and Ichigo could never forget. Pulling back from the kiss, the two came back up to reality and took the time to look at each other in the eyes.

Many emotions were swimming in Ichigo's eyes, that Rukia wasn't sure what could be what. She could see this shine that was in his eyes, and she could tell that she was the reason why there was a shine. Rukia found happiness and surprise linger in his eyes. There was no fear or disappointment from his actions. Warmth was radiating from his whole body that was flushed against her small body. Ichigo's hands stayed firm against the smooth curves of Rukia's hips and his fingers were moving slowly up and down in a comforting away. Rukia shivered from the warm feeling that came from Ichigo's hands.

Catching her breath seemed like a hard task as Rukia was distracted by Ichigo's close proximity to her face. Unable to move her head at all, Rukia just stayed still looking at the teen directly in front of her. She noticed no frown on Ichigo's face nor a guarded aura that he showed towards many. There was small pressure against her forehead as Ichigo kept contact with her using his own forehead. Swallowing the deeply, Rukia composes herself and tries not to break into a million pieces. Moving slightly, Rukia tries to pull herself away from Ichigo. The room was beginning to feel like a small area and she just needed to move. Ichigo kept his hold on her hips and pulled her back against his body. "Don't leave, please Rukia."

The plea from Ichigo stopped Rukia's movements. Looking back up to Ichigo, Rukia gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about me. I just need some air for a second. I'll be back in five minutes." Wrapping his arms around Rukia, Ichigo gives her a tight embrace that she could feel his affection coming from his fast beating heart. "You better not be lying. Or else I'm going to hunt you down." Smiling at his threat, Rukia puts her shoes on and steps out into the hall. Grabbing her phone, Rukia looks down at the screen to see that there is still no service. Looking over to the window, Rukia could see some rain fall down onto the ground. What she couldn't see though was the one teen she knew well coming up behind her.

Pulling Rukia into his arms, Ichigo felt content finding her just outside the hallway. He told himself that she would be back in five minutes, but when she didn't come back for half an hour, he went out to look for her. He didn't want to seem the possessive type, but he couldn't help but be worried when someone didn't come back in half an hour. Resting his head on her shoulder, Ichigo closes his eyes and relaxes against Rukia. Taking the small chance once again, Ichigo pivots his head to the side and places his lips on her smooth neck. Traveling up her neck slowly, Ichigo tenderly places small kisses. He isn't sure why he feels great pleasure in being close to Rukia, but he didn't mind it one bit. But on the other hand, Rukia was going crazy over the sweet actions.

She has never been kissed before, and she doesn't think Ichigo has either. But right now in the hall, the two are standing close to each other and Ichigo is latched onto her neck. As her mind begins to work and she realizes her surroundings, she goes into panic mode. Pulling Ichigo with her, Rukia runs into his apartment. Ichigo lets out a yelp as he finds himself being dragged away by Rukia. Stumbling through Ichigo's apartment, Rukia hides her red face behind a pillow. "Don't hide Rukia. What's wrong?" Ichigo tries to sound concern but in the inside, he is laughing at her cuteness. Grabbing the pillow, Ichigo begins to laugh out loud at seeing Rukia's pink face. Hearing the laugh of Ichigo made Rukia mad. Jumping up from the couch, Rukia walks over to Ichigo and blows a punch right into Ichigo's arm. "OW! What was that for midget?! You know I was joking." Grabbing Rukia's arms, Ichigo pulls the girl into his lap. Wrapping his arms around Rukia, Ichigo holds Rukia and refuses to let her escape from his arms.

"Ichigo! Let go of me, I'm mad at you right now. Let go fool!" Rukia kicked and moved as much as possible. She felt exhausted as she kept moving around. After two minutes of struggling, Rukia stopped moving and settled down on Ichigo. Grinning at Rukia's struggle, Ichigo relaxed into the couch with Rukia on his lap. "Can you just calm down and relax? We will talk about this later. Just give me a few minutes to rest my eyes." Looking over at his face, Rukia notices that Ichigo indeed fell asleep. "Resting your eyes, my butt.. Ichigo! Wake up!" Using all of her strength, Rukia gets out of his hold and pushes him off the couch. Falling with a loud thump, Ichigo glares up at Rukia. He is not surprised to see her laughing at his fallen state. Pusing himself off the ground, Ichigo lunges towards Rukia and pins her down onto the couch. "You are not getting away! Stop being so damn evil!" Holding her arms above her head, Ichigo begins his assault on Rukia.

Using one hand to hold her arms, Ichigo reaches down to her sides and begins to poke her. Feeling her squirm from the contact, Ichigo smiles in satisfaction knowing that she is ticklish. Tickling her sides, Ichigo can see Rukia slowly break down. "Agghhhh! Ichi- hahahaha- Ichigo Stop! Ahahahaha, ahhhh!" Thrashing against Ichigo's body, Rukia eagerly tries to escape. Using her legs as much as possible, Rukia kicks Ichigo off of her. Seeing him land once again on the floor, Rukia hops off the couch and tries to escape the living room. Rukia is surprised to feel Ichigo below her body and realizes that she was tripped purposely by Ichigo. "Move! You almost made me die!" Flipping their bodies around, Ichigo flicks her in the forehead. "Relax, idiot. It should be me complaining! When did you ever think it was a good idea to push me off the couch several times?! I could of hit my head and bled to death!" Once again, the two are flipped over and Rukia lands on top of him once again.

Ichigo is surpised by the girl's strength and the fact that Rukia has not run away embarrassed by the kiss. "You are so exaggerating! To think that I even like you after all this stuff that happened between.." Rukia immediately stops her sentence when she realizes what slipped out of her mouth. Putting her hand up to her mouth, Rukia scrambles up to her feet and runs into the bathroom. Ichigo sits up and looks towards the bathroom. Feeling a grin spread on his face, Ichigo runs down to the bathroom to retrieve Rukia. Knocking on the door, Ichigo waits for Rukia to open the door. "Ru, open the door. I heard what you said, you like me." Rukia could practically see Ichigo smirking as he teased her through the bathroom door. Knowing well that Rukia was listening to everything, Ichigo decided to push her buttons. "Come on babe, open the door and let's do something. You can't stay in there all night long." Watching the door swing open fast, Ichigo was happy to see Rukia in his sight.

"What did you call..me?" Rukia could barely finish her question when she opened the door. Feeling Ichigo's lips on her forehead, Rukia could feel her cheeks heat up fiercely. "Finally you come out. Let's get to bed, it's getting late." Grabbing Rukia's hand, Ichigo heads over to his room. Settling down into his bed, Ichigo waits for Rukia to join him. Yet even though the Ichigo was inviting Rukia to sleep with him, she stayed firm on the ground. "I'm not sleeping with you at all Ichigo Kurosaki." Scowling at Rukia, Ichigo scoots closer to Rukia and tries to grab her. "Come on, it's not like you haven't slept in my bed before. Pull that stick out of your ass and get into bed midget. I'll do nothing." Moving towards the bed, Rukia attempts to punch Ichigo in the face, but fails when her fist is easily caught in the big hand of Ichigo's. "I promise Ru, just come sleep with me. I'll try and keep you away from me." Rolling her eyes, Rukia makes her way into the comfy bed.

Once Rukia climbs into his bed, she stays towards the edge of the bed. Not liking the distance between each other, Ichigo scoots over as secretive as possible. Pulling Rukia's body, Ichigo wraps his arm around Rukia's waist. Ichigo holds his breath as he waits for a reaction from Rukia. Feeling no movement coming from her, Ichigo settles his face down and closes his eyes. Drifting off in a peaceful sleep, Ichigo and Rukia rest for a whole night with no worries.

Morning came and the clouds were still drifting around over Karakura Town. It was still muggy and not good weather to be outside. Everything about the town seem silent and serene even after all of the rain washed out the town. Even though it was summer, people were still all huddled under blankets like it was winter. In a small bed in Ichigo's room, the two laid silently together in peace. Some point at night Ichigo ended up on his back with Rukia curled up under his arm. Some point during the night, Rukia stirred a couple times and woke up to darkness. It never bothered Rukia, but she felt confused as to why she felt good by him. Now as she laid in the morning next to Ichigo, Rukia felt at peace with herself and everyone in the world.

Placing her hand lightly on Ichigo's face, Rukia moved her fingers along his cheeks. When a soft smile spread on his face, Rukia smiled at the sight. Moving her head towards Ichigo's, Rukia kissed the teen's forehead gently. She felt slightly embarrassed when she saw Ichigo's warm eyes staring down at her. Feeling Ichigo's lips on her cheek, Rukia couldn't help the shy smile on her face. His lips get moving around her face, placing kisses softly on her. "Hm, Ichigo seem a little affectionate, yes?" Moving his head back, Ichigo just rolls his body away and sulks. "Whatever, sorry I just wanted to be a nice boyfriend." Sitting up from the bed, Rukia stares wide eye at the orange teen who laid in bed. "Boy-boyfriend?! I didn't know we were on terms here. You never even asked me!" Flipping back over, Ichigo looks at Rukia as if she grew another head on her body.

"What do you mean? I thought it was pretty obvious. I didn't think we needed to establish anything." Pushing Rukia back onto the bed, Ichigo crawls over and lands on top of Rukia. "You know, you are acting crazy. Just relax and enjoy the morning with me." Bringing his lips up to hers, Ichigo begins to kiss Rukia's small lips. At first Rukia was still shocked by this action, but soon relaxed. Not sure exactly what to do, Rukia moved her lips a little and felt Ichigo smile against her. Pulling back to rest his forehead onto Rukia's forehead, Ichigo looks deeply into her eyes. "I thought you almost died there Rukia, are you still okay?" Pushing Ichigo away, Rukia kicks him off the bed and walks away. "Don't get your hopes up now fool. You are just being a complete idiotic baboon! I'm leaving, see you later."

Walking out of the front door, Rukia makes her way down the stairs. Seeing a few people out in the front, Rukia is slightly confused to see Renji and Orihime standing outside in the front. Reaching the front door, Rukia is about to let them in but is stopped by Ichigo. "Not so fast midget! Get back here." Grabbing her waist, Ichigo hauls Rukia up over his shoulder and begins to walk back. "Hey, Ichigo! Wait for us! We were about to come up and greet you. Ishida is coming in with some food!" Scowling at the visitors in the front, Ichigo begins to walk back up. "Let's go up now, since you guys are here. Ishida better have brought some good food, I'm starving." Nudging Ichigo in the side, Ishida snickers catches up to everyone as they walk towards the stairs. "Late night with Miss Kuchiki? You seem quite attached to her, Kurosaki." Ichigo begins to laugh when he sees Rukia freak out on his shoulder.

"You could say something like that. But I can assure you that I had a great time making this midget my girlfriend." Everyone is shocked to hear those words come out of Ichigo's mouth. Jumping up and down, Orihime cheers in happiness. "So CUTE! I'm so glad you two are finally together! We must celebrate this wonderful time. I brought over some cookies with wasabi and bean paste and a few sandwiches with mustard and octopus. I will happily share all the food I made today!" Feeling their stomachs dying inside of their bodies, the teens quickly decline her offer. "No thank you, Orihime! Maybe next time. But you know what you can help me with? Packing boxes for the new house we were going to move in" Orihime gasps as she realizes that the two of the teens at the small apartment have not moved a piece of furniture or clothing at the new house.

Grabbing Rukia and dragging her to her apartment, Orihime becomes determined to clean a whole apartment in a matter of hours. "We will see you guys later! I need to help Rukia pack. You guys help Ichigo also!" The door slams and the guys are left outside in the hallway. Looking over at Ichigo, Renji and Ishida glare down at him. "You forgot to pack, didn't you?" Ichigo shrugs his shoulder and walks into his apartment. "Guess I did. Time to get packing then." Sitting on the couch, Renji laughs and pulls out some remotes. "How about we play some video games instead?" Punching Renji in the back of the head, the guys leave him lying on the ground as they begin to pack up the apartment. "Come on baboon, we need to get to work."

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Thanks for reading this chapter everyone. I hope you enjoy. Press that lovely review button and tell me whta you think. Cheers c:


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